my version of Last Sacrifice
by teamdimka22
Summary: This is my own version of Last Scarifice. I love The series and this is my first time so please go easy on the reviews. i know it's not as good as richelle mead's but...hey, at least i tried.
1. Chapter 1

The words replayed itself over and over again. _They execute traitors. _Stupid Abe, why did he tell me that? Oh well, I shouldn't of asked. I took some time to access my surroundings. I was in the same cell that Dimitri was locked up in a while ago. I was also sitting curled up on the bed trying to feel his presence and to take warmth from that. It wasn't comfortable but it was better than nothing. The walls were stone hard cold and there were traces of blood on the floor. The cell bars were also hard metal and behind them stood two guardians.

I sat on the bed and thought over the situation. Okay, so someone snuck into my room, stole my stake-leaving no DNA-and staked the queen with it. But before Tatiana died she wrote a letter addressed to me, telling me that Lissa had a sibling-or half sibling-which means that she could be on the royal council.

Some footsteps broke me out of my concentration. I looked out and was surprised to see Lissa there. Her catching me by surprise was a rarity because of the psychic bond, one that always kept me aware of her presence and feelings but I was too situated in my problems that I didn't see her coming. The bond told me that she was worried about me and that she used compulsion on the guardians to let her in. I was supposed to be angry because she used compulsion but I was also relieved that she came.

She glanced at the guardians and was worried that she might get caught.

"Can I have some privacy please?" she spoke to the two guardians

"There is always supposed to be two guardians near the cell princess, I'm sorry."

She was mad but excused it as she did not have much time left to talk to me. Though the bond I knew that she came because she was worried about me but she was also hiding something but all I knew is that it is something good.

"How are you feeling? Are they …"she shot a dangerous look at the guardians in the hall. "Are they treating you okay?"

"I'm fine Lissa, you don't have to worry." I was lying to both of us but at least she didn't have to worry about me even more then she already is. "What's the good news?"Lissa blushed and smiled at me.

"I got you out" I didn't have enough time to process this but Lissa now opened up the bond to me so I could read it. When I finished, I couldn't believe it. Somehow Lissa had managed to compel the person in charge of my trail to let me out but with at least 3 guardians watching my every move.

"Lissa…" I was speechless. I would be out of this hell hole and into the free world…well, not free except for 3 guardians.

"Yeah, you can thank me later but now I need to know what happened." She turned to speak to the guardians. "Let her out, I have a note from Brian Ivashkov to let you know the situation" The guards didn't move at first but Lissa gave them the note and they were by my cell and unlocking it. Another guard, one I recognise, Mikhail joined them.

"Are you going to be okay with them for at least another hour?" Asked Lissa who was eager to get to a meeting that she was already late to.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. You go to that meeting, I'll catch you later and we can talk some more okay?"

"Okay" she went hurriedly towards the exit.

I was about to go to the cafeteria because I haven't ate since this morning but thought better of it and went towards Dimitri's room. I had to show him the note that Tatiana gave me. But I also needed to see him and explain.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I'm sorry if this is a little sloppy. It was done really late at night so read, comment, subscribe, and enjoy

I stopped right in front of Dimitri's room with my three guardians unsure of what to say if he opened the door. He told me to keep away and said that he didn't have feelings for me anymore. I remembered the time when he fought the queen's guardians for me and the look of love that he gave me. Did he still love me?

I knocked on Dimitri's door and waited. He didn't answer, either he wasn't in his room or he was ignoring me so I decided to go to the cafeteria to get something to eat. I went the long way as to avoid being around lots of people but I did catch a few people staring and murmuring things about me. When I arrived, I heard people gasp over my appearance. They all thought I'd be locked up until my trail.

I ordered a chocolate glazed doughnut and sat at a table closet to me. I took a bite out of it and started to drift into Lissa's mind

She was standing in a room that I recognise, I went there before when Tatiana wanted to asked me questions about how old I was when I killed strigoi which she used against me in the new age degree. The room was amazing. It was heavily decorated, conveying an old-world royal feel, with painstakingly carved floral molding and shining gold candleholders on the walls. There were actually lit candles in them too. The light filled the room and everything glittered.

Lissa was in the audience and at the front stood Nathan Ivashkov, Adrian's father.

"This session of the Moroi Royal Council is now in order" He declared "Today we will be discussing the tragic death of Her Royal Majesty, Tatiana Marina Ivashkov." He bowed his head as a sign of honor. "Now I know that it's a tragedy but we royals have to stay together. Today we talk about who would be elected for the next king or queen. We have 2 electors in mind and-

"Roza…"

My concentration broke and I came back to myself and the real world. Dimitri was standing in front of me, eyes full of worry and curiosity. There were 3 guardians with him this time, which was a reduction from the five I usually saw him with.

"What are you doing out?" he asked

"Lissa got me out" His face filled with wonder and awe and I suddenly hated it. I hated how he was always pushing me away. I hated how he kept ignoring me and I hated how he kept hurting me. I hated him. "What do you want Dimitri?" I spat. His face was now filled with shock and maybe a little hurt but I didn't let hat effect me. I wanted to hurt him exactly how he had hurt me. I wanted him to feel what I felt. He looked around then at the ground.

"Can I….can I speak to you privately?" he asked and now I was suddenly the curious one. Why did he want to talk? I wanted to know what he wanted to say so I nodded. He sat down and asked both our guardians to give us some privacy. Tentatively they backed away leaving us with a little privacy so our conversation would not be heard.

"Did you come here to say your goodbyes since ill be executed in a few days." I spat. He kept his face calm and controlled his feelings like he usually did.

"Don't say that. That won't happen to you. You're strong and you're innocent." He responded calmly.

"How do u know? All the evidence points to me!"

"Stop it! You're giving up and the Rose I knew never gave up no matter how difficult it was" He looked angry and irritated and so was I.

"So? The Dimitri I knew never gave up as well. Yet, u gave up on us, on our relationship." He looked away from me

"That's different" he told me stiffly. "I'm not like you, you're strong. You always keep fighting, it's not like you to give up. I sighed. I was getting impatient. I lost it. I pushed my chair out of the way and stood up. My guardians tensed by did nothing.

"There you go again, always avoiding our relationship. I'm sick of this Dimitri, You told me to stay away from you and now I am. I don't love you anymore Dimitri." It was like someone pieced a stake into my heart but I ignored it because I wanted to hurt him and I did. His face was filled with hurt and pain but I didn't let that stop me. "Stay away from me."

And with that I stormed away with my guardians following me.


	3. Chapter 3

I didn't know where I was going but I knew I needed to get the anger out of me so I went outside to get some fresh air. My guardians were on my every move and when I flung the door open, the air was crisp and fresh. I breathed in and out for a couple of seconds. I still had some of spirit's darkness in me so I decided to go for a run. I haven't done that since I was back at the academy training with Dim-

_No! I won't think about Dimitri. Not now. He's lost to me now._

I ran faster. My guardians were not with me now. They were at the sidelines watching my every move. I could make my brilliant escape now but I was too intent on my running.

"Hey, slow down Little Dhampir." Came a familiar voice. Out of the corner I saw a glimpse of a very handsome Adrian Ivashkov. I came to an abrupt stop for him. His breath was ragged by all the running to catch up with me and his hair, usually kept messy, was tangled in the wind. He wasn't looking directing at me but around me. I checked my both sides but saw nothing out of place but then I noticed he was reading my aura. His eyebrows were drawn together in confusion.

"What do you see?" I always knew the answer. Black. That's what he saw but maybe, just maybe today was different.

"Black. As usual." _Wow I didn't expect that. _I thought sarcastically. "But there's a hint of anger, and regret. What's wrong Little Dhampir?" Did I want to tell him? He was my boyfriend but maybe speaking to him about my ex-boyfriend would be weird.

"Nothing, I'm – I'm just worried. There's a killer on the loose Adrian and I've got to find out who did it." I lied. He looked unsure but soon ignored it

"When I heard you'd been released, I went searching for you. I didn't really expect you to be here." He admitted.

"Adrian…?" I said with a sigh. "Do you think I killed you aunt?" He looked down at the ground as a sign of respect for his aunt. Though the mess, everyone had overlooked that Adrian used to be the queen's favourite great nephew.

"No." He replied simply without a doubt. I gave him a slow sad smile and before I knew what I was doing my arm was around his neck and our lips embraced. Even he was caught my surprised but responded as quickly. I pulled back to take a good look at him.

"When did you become so understanding? That's supposed to be my job." I teased. He chuckled

"Little Dhampir" he sighed "I've always been like this. It just took you this long to figure it out."My grin widened and we kissed again. His lips were soft and hungry. This time he broke the embrace. I was confused but when I looked up, his eyes weren't on me but on something behind me. I looked over my shoulder to find Dimitri and his guardians standing not so far away. I looked away, giving him an impression that I was ignoring him. The bond told me that Lissa was done with the meeting but there was only one way to get inside and it was going to pass Dimitri.

"Common Adrian, Let's go find Lissa." I was holding on to his hand and tugging it towards the door. As we walked pass Dimitri, he mumbled something in Russian that I couldn't understand. I ignored it and kept walking. Out of the corner of my eye, Adrian raised his eyes. When we were in the hall and walking towards the council office I couldn't help my curiosity. "What!" I asked

"Your aura, it turned a little blacker when you walked past him." He didn't need to elaborate on the _him. _But I knew who he was talking about. "What happened between you guys?" he continued. I didn't want to talk about that. Not now. And certainly not to him.

"Nothing. Just don't worry ab-" A jolt of fear shot through the bond and I sprinted as fast as I could towards the council office. I didn't bother to slow down for Adrian. When I got there, Lissa wasn't.


	4. Chapter 4

I tried slipping into her head but she was blocking me. Why? What was she keeping from me? Was she in trouble? My guardians came rushing towards me with Adrian trying to keep up with them

"What's wrong Miss Hathaway?" asked one of my guardians. I ignored the drop of my title and kept looking around to see if Lissa was anywhere to be found.

"Lissa!" I screamed at them. "Vasilisa Dragomir is in trouble!" I was now beginning to feel worried. If Lissa was in trouble why would she block me? The guardians just stood there for a while taking it all in but I was getting impatient. "Why aren't you doing anything!" I screamed

"Rose, where is she?" Adrian stepped forward with a worried look on his face and out a hand on my shoulder. I shifted away from it. Lissa needed me now.

"I-I don't know" I cried. "She's blocking me." There was a crowd around us now and though it stood a tall Russian figure but I paid no attention to him. Lissa was in trouble. The guardians now spoke among themselves and rushed out of the room putting their plan into action. I rushed after them. I needed to know what happened.

"Where are you going?" I asked a guardian. He kept his guardian mask on.

"That's for us to know and you to find out" He said plainly. They walked into the guardian's office but unfortunately I couldn't get in because I'm not a guardian anymore. So I sat outside of the guardian's block and tried my hardest to slip into her head but I couldn't get a tiny emotion let alone slip into her mind.

"Roza…" came a familiar Russian accent. I opened my eyes to find Dimitri standing over the top of me.

"I don't have time for you right now Dimitri. My best friend's in trouble." I jumped up off the ground to find Hans coming out of the guardian's office. He tortured me into paperwork when Lissa and I went off to Las Vegas but soon had a new respect for each other when we rescued Lissa and Christian form the warehouse. "Hans!" He turned around surprised but I ignored him. "What going on?"

"We're sending out a search party." He answered, guardian mask on. He started to turn but I stopped him desperate to help in any way that I could.

"Let me help you" I pleaded. I thought I saw a glimpse of sympathy in his eyes but brushed it away.

"Why? You're not a guardian anymore and you're useless without the bond." He looked confused. I let out a frustrated sigh.

"You and I both know that you're much better with me than without me." I stated "One more wouldn't hurt Hans." I begged "Please?" I was desperate. He let out an exasperated sigh.

"Okay, come with me." He led me towards Lissa's room. "We're going to slip into groups and spread out looking for her. You're her best friend, do you know what happened to her? I hesitated. This was the first time that I was truly lost where Lissa was concerned. I've never been without the bond when she needed me the most but now I realised how precious the bond was.

"I-I don't know" I admitted. He shot me a caring look.

"We're going to find her you know" He assured me "She's going to be okay. We'll make sure of that." I shot him a grateful a smile. I really misjudged him. I thought he was a man that rarely felt sorry for people so I was grateful for that. Oh, and plus the fact that he's helping me find my best friend.

"Thank-you." We continued to walk silently towards Lissa's dorm and we bumped into Christian on the way there.

"Rose!" He looked worn out. "What happened? Where's Lissa?" He demanded. I sighed, he always counted on me to assure him that Lissa was okay but I had to break it to him.

"I don't know Christian." He looked confused

"What do you mean you don't know, you have to?"

"She's blocking me. I can't access her emotions or her mind." I knew what he was thinking. I knew he thought that she might be dead but my mind kept searching for her never giving up.

"Is she…." He looked away from me suddenly embarrassed

"No-No Christian, you can't think like that, she needs you to be strong for her. You have to believe." I was going to say more when Hans made a quick comment to go.

"I have to go Christian but remember what I said okay?" He looked hesitant but nodded and I kept walking.

We reached Lissa's room and went in. The room was exactly as I remembered it but there was eeriness to it, like someone had been in there. Hans took the lead as he checked the room. I went over to the cupboard and pulled out the draws. In the third one I opened, there was a note. It was written in blood and it was dry. It read:

_Princess Vasilisa Dragomir is safe. Do not worry Rose. _

It was short simple and to the point. I was too confused and astonished that I hadn't realised that Hans crept behind me and read the note. His eyebrows were pulled together in confusion. Who would do such a thing?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: HEY GUYS. I'M SORRY FOR THE SLOW UPDATE. ONLY A COUPLE WEEKS INTO SCHOOL AND THE HOMEWORK IS MASSIVE. THANKS FOR BEING SO PATIENT. A SHOUTOUT TO ALL MY FRIENDS, FANS AND SUBCRIBERS. ENJOY GUYS! **

I stared blankly at the words. _Princess Vasilisa Dragomir is safe. Do not worry Rose. _Why was my name on the note? Was I a threat? Was I the reason Lissa got kidnapped or was it a hint to lure me? But one thing I knew for sure; they knew who I was. But of course, who didn't? I was the legendary reckless Rose Hathaway.

"Come on, we have to get this back to the guardians" Hans was tugging on my arm but my mind was still set on the note. Who would've done this?

"ROSE!" Hans was getting impatient. "Let's go. This is hard evidence." I snapped out of my trance reminding myself that Lissa needed me right now. Hans walked out of the room with me trailing behind lost in thought. There were people everywhere. Some thought there was a strigoi attack and some thought that Lissa left the court on her own will. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Adrian. He rushed towards me running his hand though his messy hair.

"Rose, what's happening?" His face was filled with worry and confusion.

"I'm not quite sure Adrian, but Lissa's in trouble and I have to help her" I replied still trying to keep up with Hans. Adrian seemed to get even more frustrated but reached into his pocket to pull out a packet of cloves and went outside to smoke. I didn't mind, technically because I needed to catch up to Hans but also because he was under a lot of stress lately. I broke in to a jog and barely caught sight of Hans entering the guardian's building. I wasn't allowed in but I didn't care. My best friend is in trouble. I spotted Hans calling everyone to attention. The room finally quietened down although outside with filled with chatter.

"Has anyone found any traces of the Dragomir princess?" he kept his voice flat and serious. The room was filled with shakes of heads. Hans sighed. "I think we need to open a questioning." I knew what a questioning was. I was questioned myself when the Queen wanted to ask me about my strigoi killings so she could use me as evidence against the new age law. Hans walked out of the room confirming that the discussion was over. I followed him out of the room trying to catch up to him.

"A questioning! Are you serious?" I screamed out to him trying to get his attention. I did. He turned around and spotted me.

"What? What's wrong with a questioning?" his face with filled with confusion. I was shocked.

"What's wrong with a questioning! It's a waste of time! We could be searching for her instead of a questioning. I'd save us a lot of time!"

"It's the only way to get answers we don't already know. Everyone's in confusion. This is the best way to clear it up and plan out a strategy." He kept his voice blank and showed little emotion. I sighed in defeat. He turned and walked away ending our conversation. I tried again with the bond. It was just like last time but I could sense a little fear from her, but she was still blocking me.

"Any luck?" I snapped back into my own body and Christian was standing in front of me. I shook my head. I sighed. I just wish that I could do something got help Lissa.

"Do you have any idea where she is?" I asked. I knew it was very unlikely but I knew I had to try.

"If I would, do you think I'd be here right now?" he asked. I didn't need to think about it. He loved Lissa as much as I did.

"No, I guess not." I replied. "I just don't get it. Why would she block me?"

"I don't know Rose. You're usually the smart one. I'm the witty one remember?" He nudged me with his elbow. I broke a grin. Even at times like these, Christian can always make snide remarks and make me smile. Just then, two guardians came out of the office. I clearly recognise one as Stan Alto, who was one of my teachers back at the academy.

"Hathaway!" He called. "I expect you at that questioning. It's going to start in a couple of minutes. We have some important questions for you" I was clearly surprised by this. The last time Stan and I saw each other wasn't good but I guess things change. I gave him a half smile.

"Thanks Stan-, I mean, guardian Alto." He gave me a little nod before disappearing in the crowd. i turned back to Christian.

"You are coming?"

"I would never miss it"

And with that we headed back towards the court building.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: HEY GUYS. HERE'S CHAPTER FIVE. IM SORRY IF IT'S A LITTLE SLOPPY. THANKS FOR THE GREAT REVIEWS AND A SHOUTOUT TO MY FRIENDS, FANS AND SUBSCRIBERS. THANKS FOR ADDING ME TO YOUR FAV STORIES AND STORY ALERTS AND STUFF. I APPREICIATE IT. LOVE YA ALL. ENJOY :D xoxo.**

I approached the doors of the court and flung it open. It was chaos. Just like the hall, there were people everywhere discussing what was happening. I spotted Adrian near the back row talking to an old friend, Tasha Ozera. They both looked lost and confused. Out of the corner of my eye, sitting at the back was Dimitri lost in thought, guardian face on. He flicked me a glance at me and my heart leaped. I knew I should be mad at him but it was an instant reaction. I couldn't control what my heart felt. I turned away from him.

Beside me, Christian was scanning the room. I pointed over at Adrian and Tasha. We made our way through the crowd and when Tasha looked up from when she was sitting and saw, she jumped up causing Adrian to fall silent. She practically ran over to us and hugged Christian.

"This must've been so hard on you." She said. Christian was far too taken aback to respond to her hug.

"It's harder for Lissa." He pointed out. Tasha let him go and did the same for me. She gave both of us an encouraging smile. I turned away, letting them have their moment.

"I was worried about you Little Dhampir." I looked over at Adrian. I suddenly felt bad that I've been ignoring me for the past hours.

"I can take care of myself Adrian." I gave him a little smile.

"I know but, I'm your boyfriend, I can't help it, can I?" I was about to respond to his question when Nathan Ivashkov called the court room to attention. Clearly he was running this questioning session.

"Calm down everyone. Take a seat and we'll begin." He ushered. Everyone hurriedly took their seats. I sat down next to Adrian.

"The Questioning of the Disappearance of Princess Vasilisa Dragomir is now in session." Declared Nathan. "Guardian Croft will lead the questioning." Huh, I guess I was wrong about Nathan leading the questioning. He nodded over to Hans which stood up and took his spot at the front.

"I want to call Miss Rose Hathaway to be questioned please." Heads turned toward me. I stood up, head held high. I knew that I had to be questioned but people stared at me like I was a freak. Hell, maybe I was, But I couldn't blame them since I was still the suspected murderer of Queen Tatiana. I slowly took my place and the stand. I suddenly had déjà vu from the time of my hearing. I held my head high and Hans came over and stood by my stand.

"Miss Hathaway," He started, ignoring the drop of my title. "You have a physical and emotional bond with the Princess. Am I correct?"

"Yes" I didn't dare say anything else. The power of the stares was so powerful.

"And at the time of her disappearance, she was blocking you?

"Yes" I repeated. At the back row, I saw Dimitri deep in thought and confusion.

"Can you explain this to the rest of us?" he asked.

"Ummmm….." I didn't know how to explain it, it was something that I didn't fully get wither. "Well, when she's blocking me, I can't feel her emotions or slip inside her head." I saw confusion on the faces of the audience.

"What do you mean 'slip inside her head'?" he continued

"Well, if her emotions are too strong or if I concentrate really hard, I can 'slip inside her head' which means that I can feel her emotions along with seeing the world though her eyes." I explained, trying to make it clear as possible. The confused faces didn't leave the crowd.

"Hmmm…" replied Hans, clearly dumbstruck. "Then if you can feel her emotions, what was the last emotion you felt from her before she blocked the bond?"

"Fear." I replied

"Of what?"

"I don't know. Maybe fear of her kidnapper." I suggested.

"Hmmm…Okay, and the note you found as evidence." He held up a plastic bag containing the note I found in Lissa's draw. "Why was your name on it?"

"I don't know that either." I admitted

"We did a DNA testing." He said, mostly to the court room then to me, "And we found that it was written in Princess Vasilisa's blood, but the 'Rose' part." I flinched at the mention of Lissa's blood on the note. He turned back to me. "Was written in your blood Rose. Can you explain how this happened?" I was clearly shocked by this.

"No!" were they naming me as a suspect? I was angry. "I don't fucken know how my blood got on there." I told him. Gasps filled the silent room. Nathan quickly silenced the room and turned back to us signifying for us to continue.

"Right. Well, Miss Hathaway, that's all for now. You can step down." I slowly stepped down and joined my friends at the back.

"I will now call Nathan Ivashkov to be questioned please." Nathan looked shocked that he would be questioned but unlike me, he didn't hold his head high while going to the stand.

"Now you were the last one to see the Dragomir Princess. Am I—"

It was like as if a thunderbolt strike went through my body. The power was so overwhelming, it burned into me. The pain was excruciating. I was being sucked into Lissa's head.

**A/N: HEY GUYS, I KNOW IT'S A HUGE CLIFFHANGER. THE NEXT CHAPTER WONT BE COMING OUT AT LEAST UNTILL NEXT WEEK. SORRY GUYS, DON'T BLAME ME, BLAME THE SCHOOL! WELL, I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER, I MADE IT A LITTLE LONGER SO U'LL BE SATISFIED UNTIL NEXT WEEK (LOL). AS ALWAYS RATE AND REVIEW! xoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey guys, this actually came out pretty early than I expected it to. I got more free time than I knew I has so I spent every of those free moments putting this together for you (don't you just love me now?) Sorry for making you wait that long. So…disclaimers, blah blah blah. Enjoy **

The pain was so overwhelming. It never felt like this before. Every time I got sucked into Lissa's head, it was as easy as breathing. The pain was located directly on my neck, like it was going to snap off anytime soon. Lissa was screaming in pain, and I realized the pain was directed to Lissa and there wasn't something wrong with the bond. The process was directed to Lissa but I felt the pain along with her, but not as strongly because it wasn't physically done towards me.

The pain was suddenly overtaken by a bliss that felt like it filled each vain and muscle in my body. It felt somewhat familiar, like I already had this experience before, but I couldn't out my finger on it.

I was in a dark room but I couldn't see anything or anyone. I felt dazed and dizzy. I couldn't think straight. The bliss I felt in my body lessened but didn't stop immediately. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flicker of shadows and as soon as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I made it out as a figure. A tall one. He came into Lissa's view and I noticed it was no ordinary person. I took in the all the features. The pale white skin, the eyes ringed in red, and the fangs which were smeared in blood. Yes, definitely a strigoi.

It was as if a light switch went on in my head, I realized that the pain was the strigoi's teeth sinking into Lissa's neck and the bliss the wonderful bliss was the bliss of a vampire's endorphins. And the blood, it wasn't just any blood. It was Lissa's blood. The strigoi didn't suck the life out of Lissa but it did enough for her to feel dazed and dizzy just like Dimitri did to me.

I heard a low familiar chuckle. I could've named that chuckle anywhere. Victor Dashkov. As soon as I thovught his name, he came around the corner so Lissa could see him. He looked even healthier than I saw him last time, thanks to his spirit-user brother, Robert who was right next to him wearing the same wicked smile of his.

"Did you enjoy yourself little one?" He asked, clearly amused. Lissa didn't even blink. She was too much in a daze as I was. Victor turned back to his brother.

"Are you still compelling her to block Rose?"

"ummm….no." He hesitated. "But clearly, she's too weak right now to do anything especially block her friend." What! I didn't understand a word they were saying. What about compelling Lissa? That can't be possible! Can it? Victor smiled. A wicked smile.

"Then she's probably with us right now. If I know Rose any better, she would be trying every minute to visit Vasilisa." _Damn right I would!_ I wasn't as dazed and high on the endorphins as it was on Lissa because it wasn't clearly directed to me physically but it was still in my system. Victor turned back to Lissa.

"Rose? Rose….? Are you with us? His wicked smile widened."Did you get my message?" he asked. Message? What message? I thought back. _Princess Vasilisa Dragomir is safe. Do not worry Rose. _It was him. The note was from him. I tried to piece this new information in my mind and suddenly everything clicked in place—well, not everything.

So Victor and Robert somehow kidnapped Lissa and got Robert to compel her to block me—I still didn't get hot that happened. Lissa was one of the best compelling people I know. She would've needed a lot of compulsion to faze her. But one thing I didn't get here—_well, I didn't get a lot of things here _was how they got strigoi on their team. Victor broke though my silent thoughts.

"Come and join us Rose. It wouldn't be a party without you." He coaxed "Bring whoever you want, though I want you to come alone."

"Why are you talking to Rose?" I was too focused on Victor that I didn't notice that Lissa has somewhat recovered from the vampire's endorphins but she was sill in a daze like I was. She was confused and tired. Lissa finally took in the room. It was a warehouse, one just like the one I was in Spokane. "She's not even here." She realized.

"Shut-up!" Robert exclaimed. He didn't use compulsion on her though due to the fact that she was still weak and high on the endorphins. I got mad, nobody talks to Lissa that way. I wanted to go there and punch him.

"Now now, Robert." Victor chastised. "That's not a very nice way to talk to princess Vasilisa here." He cooed. Robert's stupid grin dropped and his head drifted towards his feet ignoring Victor's glance. He wasn't use to Victor lecturing him. Victor looked away from him and back to Lissa.

"Now, Rose, if you'd like to visit us, we're in Las Vegas. Same hotel, same room from when we came here. This," He pointed to the warehouse surrounding him, "is just near the hotel, we'll be waiting for you Rose." He slowly raised his hand to his lips, kissed it and blew it Lissa's way. He turned back to his brother who was still disappointed at being chastised.

"Make her sleep Robert." He ordered and walked out. And that was when I saw them. Other people. I could only see figures at first but when I squinted, I could see that there were at least five or six of them and thought Lissa's eyes, I saw that they were no ordinary people. They were spirit uses.

"You are sleepy. You are tired. You will sleep for hours." They chanted as though they were one. I sensed magic from all of them. The power was so strong, Lissa couldn't fight it, even if she was at full strength.

"I am sleepy. I am tired. I will sleep for hours." She chanted back. She's under compulsion. I thought as her eyes went droopy and she fell into sleep.

I bolted up. I was sitting on my bed, in the middle of the room. How did I get here? I glanced around the room. It was filled with people I loved. Adrian, Christian, Eddie, Abe, my mum, Tasha and last but not least, Dimitri. He was standing at the door way, face blank and hands crossed over his chest. When he caught my glance, he turned away. My guardians along with his were nowhere to be seen. Adrian was beside me in a flash.

"Rose? What happened? My breath was fast, ragged and heavy. Adrian's face was filled with desperation, worry and confusion—something that didn't look good on him. Hid hair was messy and his eyes were wide with shock.

"Victor Dashkov." Everyone in the room gasped except for Dimitri and my mum. Dimitri's head snapped my way and my mum just kept her eyes on me, eyes wide with surprise and fear. That was a shock to me. My mum was never afraid of anyone not even strigoi and now she was afraid of Victor Dashkov?

"Victor Dashkov." I repeated, still trying to get my head around it.

**A/N: Next chapter would be posted soon. I promise**.** Please review, rate, suggest to your friends and add me to your story alerts and stuff. Thankyou guys. Love ya all. xoxo**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: hey guys, so I got some reviews that wanted the chapters longer so I'm going to make it longer for you because I love you guys so much. Anyway, I'm going to introduce a new character to the story soon and I was wondering if you'd like to 'invent' her (yes, it's a girl). Describe if she's Moroi or dhampir. If she's short, tall, medium. I'll take on as many of the wonderful ideas as I can and transform it into a whole new character okay?**

**Well, enjoy the story guys. Love you all. xoxo **

The room was filled with confusion and shock.

"What do you mean?" A husky Russian voice asked coldly. I met Dimitri's eyes and fire lit his eyes. Not for me. But at the anger of hearing _his_ voice spoken out loud. I tried to slow my breathing, only accomplishing little. I kept my eyes on him.

"Lissa." I breathed out slowly. "He was the one who kidnapped Lissa." His eyes now flared with anger. Lissa was his saviour and he was prepared to do anything for her, just like I would. The fact that Victor—the same person who tortured Lissa and threatening to reveal our relationship—made him that much angrier. Everyone in the room was silent taking in the new information.

"Ar-, Are you sure?" My mother asked. She was fazed and it took a lot to faze the legendary Janine Hathaway. I nodded. I cleared my voice, not trusting it entirely.

"I could've recognised that wicked chuckle of his anywhere. Plus," I added my jaw tightening, trying to control myself and failing miserably. "I saw his fucken face which would be smothered in blood when my fist makes contact with his fucken face!" I abruptly stood up, nearly knocking Adrian over in the process.

I paced around the room, trying to get rid of the rage that was burning within me. Abe was by my side and gripped my arm fiercely. I pulled my arm back nearly pulling Abe along with it.

"Calm down Rose we need to think of this logically for us to be able to help Lissa." Abe chastised. I turned my anger on him.

"Calm down!" I shouted my anger on the verge on bubbling. "My best friend's in trouble!" I felt tears prick at the back of my eyes. I took a deep breath and he continued.

"That's why you need to calm down and tell us what happened so we can help her." He gave me a cold hard stare surprising me of his calmness. "Sit down and tell us what happened." he gestured toward the chair behind me.

"You can't tell me what I can or cannot do old man. You-"

"Sit down, Rose." Dimitri interrupted. His voice wasn't cold or calm as was Abe's. It was demanding and impatient. The angry fire was still his eyes. I was mad. He didn't have the right to tell me what to do. He wasn't my mentor anymore. He wasn't my father but most importantly, he wasn't my lover anymore. I kept my eyes lock with his. "Sit." He repeated. Like Abe, he gestured towards the chair.

I took one long breath and felt my anger lessen. Dimitri always knew how to calm me down just like he did when I lost control and he took me towards the cabin to clean up. I sighed. The cabin was where we finally gave in to each other and made love under the covers. The thought disappeared as soon as it came and I took my seat swearing and grumbling under the breath. Dimitri also took a slow big breath like I was a pain in the ass—Hell, maybe I was. He deserved it anyways.

"Now," Abe began. "Start from the beginning. What happened?" He looked at me eyes full of questions and curiosity. I sighed. I didn't know how to explain it to them especially with Dimitri here. He was still fresh from his strigoi experience and I couldn't imagine how to break it to him gently so I just said the first thing that came to my mind.

"She was being fed by a strigoi." Just as u imagined, Dimitri flinched. I knew he was thinking about the time when he used to feed off me. When he caught my gaze, his eyes dropped to the ground to avoid my stare. He folded his arms across his chest in a defensive manner.

"Did you recognise who it was?" Abe beckoned. Was he crazy? Did he think I knew all the strigoi in the world?

"Hell no! Why would I recognise him?" He shrugged

"You have made a lot of strigoi enemies." He replied, casting a glimpse over to Dimitri who was still looking at his feet.

"Yeah, but I don't know them all!" I argued. Abe sighed.

"Then what did he look like?" Damn. I hadn't paid attention to that. I was too dazed and worried about Lissa.

"Umm….he was tall."

"Yeahhh….?" He prompted. He waved his hands urging me to continue. I thought back.

" He had blond hair….I think" I hesitated when Abe gave me another of his cold stares

"You _think_!"

"Hey! Don't blame me!" My voiced raised a little. "I was so shocked that my best friend was being fed on, and that doesn't count the fact that I would be experiencing the high of the strigoi's bite along with her!" he continued to stare at me and then let out an impatient sigh

"Fine." He gave up. "Then what?"

"I saw Victor and his half brother, Robert."

"Wait…his half brother? How did you know it was him?" he gave me a suspicious look "Have you ever seen him before?" I flicked a nervous glance at Adrian and Eddie who were the only ones that knew about my little 'vacation' with Lissa to find Victor's half brother.

"No, of course not. Why would I?" I babbled trying to act innocent.

"Then how did you know it was him?" my mother interrupted giving me the same questioning stare.

"They looked alike" I shrugged. Christian stepped forward, clearly frustrated.

"Look okay, this isn't helping. We have to find them guardians and tell them what we know. The sooner we get to them, we sooner Lissa's found.

"We have to know the truth first." My mother told him. The room was filled with chatter. Everyone was trying to get their opinions voiced. Dimitri, my mother and I were the only ones who kept silent. I growled in frustration.

"SHUT UP!" That got everyone's attention. "This isn't helping!" The tears that I was holding back earlier spilled down my face. Adrian slowly came over to sit beside me and wiped my tears away.

"Little Dhampir?" he asked soothingly. This was why I loved Adrian. He was always there for me and knew how to calm me down.

"Mhmm?"

"Common, tell us what happened next. We won't interrupt." He looked around the room "We won't interrupt." He repeated, his eyes lingering on Abe. He turned back to me. "Go on" he urged. I smiled at him. He was so patient and understanding at times like these.

"Well, I saw them and," I didn't know if I should be telling them about how Victor invited me to Las Vegas, but I didn't want them to know. I wanted to go alone but Victor had said to bring whoever I wanted. Hell, I wasn't that stupid to walk into the bait. "he tormented Lissa. He had about six or seven spirit users so he could compel Lissa to do whatever he wanted. He told her to sleep and that was that." I finished.

"Huh." I was looking at my fingernails and didn't have any idea who spoke. I looked up just in time to see Abe and my mother raise their eyebrows.

"Did you have any idea where they were?"

"Heck no!" I lied "The only thing I know is that they're in a warehouse….somewhere." Dimitri raised his eyebrows at the end of my sentence. He probably knew I was lying. He just knew mw that well. I sighed internally.

"That's not really helping Rose." Dimitri said quietly

"Well, I don't see you helping!" I spat

"Easy Rose." Adrian reminded me. I took a deep breath. Dimitri gritted his teeth.

"I would if I could!" he replied coldly "and u can right now!" he gave me one last glare before he stormed off down the hallway leaving the door wide open. I took that as an invitation. I wasn't done with him yet. I stormed after him slamming the door behind me. My guardians were at the door waiting for me.

"Hey!" I called out to him. He was also with his guardians. He stopped dead in his tracks but didn't turn around. I spoke to our guardians "A moment?" They stepped out of hearing and was clearly uncomfortable. I took my opportunity to speak. "Look, I tried my best-"

"Well, you're best isn't working, so I'm trying to do all I can to help Vasilisa without your help." He started to walk off again but I still wasn't done. I came up from behind him and shoved his arm backwards—He didn't even budge.

"Why?" I asked, "Why are you so dedicated to saving Lissa?" He gave me a _'what the fuck' _look like I was crazy.

"Do you really have to asked?" I shrugged.

"Answer the question Comrade."

"Don't call me that!" I knew he was trying to ignore my question.

"Then answer the question." He lost his controlled act.

"Because she saved me, she saved my soul!" I shook my head and sighed. After all this time, he still thought Lissa was his saviour, when I went across the world to free him—which could've costed my place as Lissa's guardian—,broke my worst enemy out of jail and risking my best friend's life to bring him back to a dhampir, and all that was for nothing. When I did those life risking missions, I always had one thought in my mind—that he would still loved me.

I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I wiped it away with my sleeve hoping that Dimitri didn't see it. When I looked up into his eyes, I knew that he'd do anything to help Lissa. The real question though, was could I trust him? Would he come with me to Vegas if I told him Lissa was there? The answer came easily. Yes. Yes, he would come if that meant saving Lissa. I could count on him to find her alive and safe. I wouldn't have to do this alone.

"Do you really want to help Lissa?" I asked. He nodded sensing that I knew something. "What" I began quietly. Our guardians were looking suspicious "would you do, if I told you that I know where Lissa is?" His eyes were filled with shocked but he quickly tried to hide his emotions and had his guardian face on.

"I'd come with you to wherever that is." He voice was serious and his eyes told me that he meant every word of it.

"She's in Las Vegas" I blurted out. He flinched at my last two words. We were there once before and my friend—Eddie—had the opportunity to free him from his evil state and I stupidly stopped him knowing I had a chance to bring him back into a dhampir.

"When can we leave?" He was fast. When he had information, he used it best to his ability. We couldn't be wasting time. I leaned in

"Whenever we can get rid of our guardians." We both cast a glance at the uncomfortable guardians. He gave me a small nod.

"Do you have a plan?" I was clearly shocked by this. Dimitri was always the one who thought up our plans. I took a moment to think. We could take on the guardians by ourselves but one of them would be smart enough to call on the whole of the court's guardian our way. We needed compulsion. And there was only one person that came to mind—aside from Lissa—when I thought of compulsion.

I nodded at Dimitri.

"Adrian Ivashkov." I gave him a slow smile. He knew what I meant and the thought of having Adrian along for the ride was too much for him. But, the man was Dimitri Belikov. The man that wasn't afraid of anything. The man when he had a mission, he strived to accomplish it. The man that use to be my lover.

**A/N: So I did make it longer. It's 2000+ words so at least double what I usually write. I hoped you enjoyed it but I was thinking, is Dimitri a little out of character? Is he getting too angry and should be more of a guardian? Please give me some feedback and don't forget about giving me your ideas for a new character (remember it's has to be a girl). Thank you. Love you all. Xoxo**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: hey guys. Just a reminder again, that I'm bringing a new character in the story which I'm letting you 'invent' her so I'm still looking for suggestions. Looking forward to reading them! I have also started a new vampire series called house of nights which is pretty good (give it a try). Now, hope you enjoy this chapter. I did make it long as I did last chapter (cause I love you guys so much) so enjoy! Xoxo**

**-Dimitri's gal. **

"Common, follow me" I lead the way our guardians following us. I knew exactly where we were going. Towards Adrian's room. I hoped that he made his way back after the meeting at my room. On the way there Dimitri didn't say a word to me. He trusted me with my plans which were usually good—risk taking, but good. Hell, what am I saying? I'm Rosemarie Hathaway, my plans aren't just good, their great.

We finally made it to Adrian's room and Dimitri placed three sharp knocks on the door. We waited for a while and nearly decided to come back later when he heard something rummaging inside.

"Adrian?" I called out hoping he'll open the door.

"Coming. Just wait." After a while, he came out with a towel wrapped around his waist. He was wet and clearly just came out of the shower. When he met Dimitri's eyes, he didn't look embarrassed nor did he try to cover any other parts of his body. Dimitri on the other hand, kept his guardian face on and spoke formally to him.

"Did we interrupt something? We can come back later, if you'd like Prince Ivashkov." Adrian flickered a glance at me and I shrugged.

"Of course not, it's fine. Rose is welcomed anytime." He smiled at me brightly. I returned it and Dimitri and I walked into the room together but our guardians stayed behind, like always. Adrian closed the door behind us. He was trying to lean in to give me a hug. I backed off and saw the confusion on his face.

"You're not hugging me, when you're wet." I explained. The confusion faded from his face.

"Awww, common, it's not we haven't done it before." What? Now I was confused. My eyebrows scrunched together.

"We haven't" I said, a little uncertainly.

"But we could always try" he smirked at me with a wink. I gave out a little laugh and nudged him on the elbow and Adrian laughed along with me. If Dimitri didn't look uncomfortable then, he was indeed uncomfortable now.

"What are you doing here?" He was speaking to Dimitri somewhat rudely and so unlike Adrian. Dimitri went straight to business.

"_Rose and I _came to tell you, that we know where the princess is and that we need your help to..." He paused. He didn't really know why we needed Adrian, just that he needed to come. "Find her." he finished. Adrian turned to face me.

"You know where Lissa is?" I nodded. He shook his head in frustration "and you told him" he pointed at Dimitri. "before you told me—you're boyfriend?" He was jealous. He wasn't usually jealous and I didn't know how to act to it, so I played it Rose Hathaway style. I smiled a slow sexy smile at him.

"Jealous?" I nudged him playfully in the arm. His frustration was overtaken by the quirkiness of Adrian Ivashkov. He smiled back at me

"Of course not, beautiful." He replied, kissing my cheek. He was about to give me a hug when I stepped back again.

"Watch it" I warned. Dimitri coughed loudly signalising that he was clearly uncomfortable. I bit my cheeks holding in my laugh.

"So…." Adrian began "Where is Lissa?" I was about to answer when Dimitri interrupted

"Las Vegas" This time he didn't flinch. Adrian turned back to him.

"and, why do you want me?" He asked, smirking. Dimitri raised an eyebrow and shrugged.

"I don't." I confirmed. He nodded towards me. "She does."

"Of course she needs me." His grin widened. He leant in, allowing me—and only me—to hear him. "What for?" he whispered. I let out a little chuckle.

"I need you to get us out of this damn place." My voice was serious and demanding. His grin dropped of his face and like Dimitri, he also, raised an eyebrow.

"Are you serious?" he asked, ignoring the seriousness of my voice. I sighed. This was going to be a long trip.

"Do you think I'd be joking about my best friend's fate?" I asked him. Boy, he was annoying.

"Look," Dimitri started, "Do you want to help us, or not? Rose and I could go alone if you'd like."

"No, no, no, no, no. I'm coming with you." He argued. He turned back to me "So what's the plan?" eyes wide with excitement. I was feeling pressured and couldn't think up a good plan—and that's a first for Rose Hathaway.

"Why me?" I whined. "Don't you guys have a plan?" I knew I was being childish but seriously, I couldn't think of a breakout plan that doesn't involve us getting into trouble.

"We can compel them to let us out" suggested Adrian. I thought about that too but Adrian alone couldn't compel a room full of guardians at one time.

"You're too weak." Physically and mentally, I silently added. "You know you can't compel a lot of guardians at a time." The room fell quiet. All three of us stood still, deep in thought.

"We could always record a fight and sneak away. If we bump into a guardian, Dimitri and I will try to take them down, if we can't, you can compel them. Okay?"

"Sounds good."Adrian nodded in approval. I turned to Dimitri, if he thought, it was his approval I was looking for. He's one of the best guardians I know and he would think of every possible way to avoid us getting caught.

"It sounds like a reasonable plan."He nodded. I smiled at him, forgetting the fact that minutes ago, we just had a fight.

"Great. When can we record the fight? Remember, this has to be private. Our guardians can't hear the same fight twice.

"I know a place." He looked uncomfortable. Clearly, this place was making him feel this way. Where was it? I guess I have to wait and find out. "I went there a couple of times before….." He didn't have to elaborate further. It was obvious that he was talking about before he got turned into a strigoi.

"Can we go now, I want to leave as soon as possible. The sooner we get out of here, the sooner we find Lissa and save her.

"How can we get rid of the guardians?" wondered Adrian. Damn, that was a big problem. Our guardians followed us everywhere except for our rooms, other people's rooms and the toilets.

"Shit!" I muttered.

"We can meet tonight." Dimitri suggested. "The guardians would be asleep and it's pretty easy to slip through security. He was looking at me and I nodded in approval.

"It could work." I was about to say more when Adrian interrupted me.

"Can't we just escape when you guys escape the guardians?" Dimitri shook her head.

"At night, they'd be a lot of guardians guardian the premises. It'd be impossible. We have to do it daylight but our guardians won't be asleep so we have to do a recording." He explained. Adrian nodded. "Are you able to get out without your guardians knowing?" he asked me.

"Easy, Peasy. I'm Rose Hathaway. I can get in or out of anything." I said confidently.

"Okay, then we'll meet back here at midnight and then we'll go together okay?" He looked back and forth between ma and Adrian. Finally I nodded.

"Okay." I responded. He turned back to Adrian expecting an answer.

"I'll be waiting." All three of us nodded in agreement. Slowly, we parted ways. It was already 10 o'clock so I still had about two hours before I had to meet them. I decided to take a nap to pass the time. I set my alarm clock, seeming as I didn't want to be late for this. My bed was soft and warm compared to the bed in my cell which was hard and uncomfortable. I was fast asleep as soon my head touched the pillow.

I woke suddenly with the ringing of my alarm clock. _Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring. _Grrrr, I grabbed my alarm clock and threw it across my room to shut it up. I sighed. I slowly got up. Luckily, I didn't change when I got in the bed so I was ready to go. I knew my guardians were fast asleep outside my room but I couldn't take the chances so obviously I took the safer way out which in this case was the window.

I gently lifted it up hoping with my life that it didn't speak. Thankfully, it didn't. I sighed in relief and climbed through the window. I barely fitted in and wondered how Dimitri –with his tall figure—would get out of this situation. I banished the thought as I shut my window and crept out into the night. Thankfully, with my Dhampir vision, I could see very well in the night. When I was half way there, I saw a shadow moving and I instantly froze. The figure froze along with me noticing my shadow. The only thing I got was that I knew it was a guy. I got ready to fight. The figure tensed and got ready to pounce but I was faster. I lunged at him hoping to take him by surprise. I didn't. He saw me coming and kicked at my chest. It knocked the air out of me and I made a 'humph' sound.

"Rose?" whispered the tall Russian god. I was grabbing at my chest, which felt like I just got stabbed. I took deep slow breaths, trying to gain back my air. Dimitri's face was written with worry and apology.

"Dimitri?" I struggled "I'm okay. I'll be fine." I assured. He crouched over me. Our bodies were so close, I could feel his body heat against mine. He stood up and lent a hand to me. I was shocked that he would offer his hand to me. I could handle myself but I wanted to feel his skin pressed up against mine, even if it's just the hands. I took it and he pulled me to my feet.

"I'm sorry, I thought you were security." I gave out a little laugh.

"Yeah, me too, that's why I _tried_ to attack you….."I gave out another chuckle, remembering the moment. "and failed." I added. I could see the corners of his mouth twitch. I knew he wanted to smile with me. We walked in silence toward Adrian's room and I couldn't help the curiosity come back to me. "How did you manage to sneak out?" This time he couldn't help but smile. It was just like old times.

"I just walked past the guardians while they were sleeping." I let out a loud laugh and covered my mouth when I realized it was a little too loud. Dimitri wasn't one to take risks with and he just walked right past the danger. "What?" He gave me an accusing look. "I couldn't fit through the window." I fought not to smile and by then we were at our destination.

I knocked on the door and we heard footsteps coming. Adrian opened the door alert and ready which was a first for Adrian.

"Common, let's go" I prompted. We walked silently with Dimitri leading the way. Thankfully, we didn't run into security. When we finally reached it, I suddenly knew why Dimitri was feeling weird when he talked about the secret location. It was _the cabin. _The cabin when I lost control. The cabin when he calmed me down. The cabin when we first gave in to each other but most importantly the cabin when we first made love. I sighed internally and when Dimitri and I caught each other's gaze, we immediately looked away.

Dimitri opened the door for Adrian and I. We stepped in and he closed the door behind us. I looked around the room and was bombarded with memories as my eyes lingered on the bed. Dimitri was strangely looking at it too.

"Okay, let's get to business." Declared Adrian, eyes flickering between the both of us as we stared at the bed. Dimitri turned back to Adrian and pulled out a recorder.

"We need at least 5 minutes of recording to distract the guardians." He informed. "Anyone got any ideas?"

"We need to make the guardians feel uncomfortable so that they won't come barging in on us." I explained.

"You can always walk in on us making out." Adrian suggested pointing between him and I with that smirk on his face.

"Adrian," I sighed "Stop being childis-" Dimitri interrupted me

"No, wait." He took a moment to think "It could work" I raised an eyebrow at him. "No," he argued "Think about it, it'd be too embarrassing to walk in on.

"hmmm…." I did take a moment to think about it and I realized it wasn't a childish idea after all. "Yeah, I guess" I said looking like I didn't care. I didn't want to admit that I was wrong and _Adrian—_out of all people—was right. We got to work straight away and at some parts Adrian and I couldn't help but laugh at how serious Dimitri's voice was.

When we were finally done, our recording was at least 6 minutes. Way more to keep our guardians distracted. We got Adrian to make some rings for us if we did bump into any guardians on the way out (we couldn't take any chances). It was nearly one o'clock am and I was sleepy. We decided to meet back at Adrian's room tomorrow for our breakout.

We started to wonder back to our rooms and couldn't help but shiver. We took the path that we walked on when we were attacked by strigoi and I saw Mason here. Thinking about Mason brought a pain in my chest, but I no longer felt guilty, I just missed him.

When we got back to Adrian's room, he kissed me hard

"Goodnight Little Dhampir." I smiled.

"Night, Adrian." I turned to Dimitri

"Night, Comrade." He smiled

"Goodnight Rose." He waved at me before he disappeared around the corner. I went back to my room and slept on my bed knowing it might be the last time I would lay in this bed.

**A/N: hey guys, yes, I did make it longer again. Its 2500+words. Reminder again about the new character. I have some personal messages which gave me some fantastic ideas. Still a long way before I introduce the character so I'm still looking for ideas. Thank-you for those who have already given me ideas. I love them and I'll take on which ones I can. Love you all. Next update will hopefully be posted soon. Take care. Xoxo **

**Dimitri's gal **


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I know you want to go to the story as soon as possible but plz plz give me some ideas about the new character, I have some ideas on my own and some ppl have pm-ed me and gave me some new ideas. Thanx to those ppl. Please do it yourself. Well, enjoy. 2000 words+. Love you all. xoxo **

I broke out of my peaceful sleep with the three hard knocks at the door. I glanced at the clock which was lying across the room. It was early in the morning and I was tired due to the sneak out last night. The knocking continued. I slowly got up grumbling under my breath and opened the door. It was one of my guardians. I gave him a questioning look but he stayed silent.

"Yes?"

"Mr Belikov told me to give you this." He handed me a folded piece of paper. Dimitri? Why would Dimitri give me a note? I took it.

"Hmmm…Thanks" The guardian sighed and nodded while I closed the door silently behind me. I slipped back into bed and unfolded the paper.

_Rose, _

_Meet Adrian and I at the cafeteria as soon as you wake up to discuss our tactics for today. Sorry I didn't have time to give this to you personally but I needed to get some weapons if we're going to save Lissa. See you at the cafeteria. _

_-Dimitri._

The note was simple and to the point. I didn't like the sound of him getting weapons by himself because it meant that he needed to go through guardians and it didn't sound too good but it was Dimitri Belikov we're talking about. My Russian badass god. He could do anything. I yawned and got out of bed. I ran my fingers through my hair and headed for the shower. It was the first shower I had since I got accused of murdering the queen. The hot water on my aching muscles felt good and I allowed myself to relax.

I got out of the shower, dried myself and my hair tying it into a bun. I wore a black tank top and a pair of jeans and headed for the door. Like always, my guardians were at the door waiting for me. I headed towards the cafeteria with them following me. Finally, I reached it and there was no Adrian or Dimitri so I decided to get something to eat first. I ordered a croissant and a coffee and went to sit a free table. My guardians sat at another table close by.

I took a bite of my croissant and felt a trickle of fear through the bond and decided to check up on it. She was in a hotel room. It was night time for the humans and Victor and Robert was nowhere in sight but the strigoi that drank from Lissa stood in the corner of the room. She was perched on the bed with her arms wrapped around her knees. She was shivering, not from the cold but from fear. She was terrified and thought she was going to die. She was worried for herself, worry for me and worry for Christian. She wiped her tears away with her sleeve. It was times like these that I wished the bond could work both ways.

"Rose!" I recognised the familiar voice. Someone was shaking me by the shoulders which brought me back into reality. I realized the familiar voice belonged to my Russian god. I blinked twice to get rid of the weird feeling of being in two worlds. Dimitri gave me a questioning look.

"Sorry, I was visiting Lissa." I explained. The confusion faded and was replaced by a look of curiosity. I knew his words before he could say it. "She's fine." I assured. The corner of his lips curled a little to form a half smile like the one he'd always give me before…..love faded. I sighed. I gestured to the chair. "Sit." Reluctantly, he sat down. He looked around.

"Where's Adrian?" I shrugged.

"Probably still sleeping." Adrian wasn't a morning person, he usually slept until midday. Dimitri rolled his eyes. There was an awkward silence between us –which was uncommon.

"So" I tried to make conversation. I looked around the room, the guardian's were out of earshot and nobody would sit near the ex-strigoi and the suspect murderer of the queen so nobody could hear us. I lowered my voice anyway "What weapons did you get?"

"Mostly stakes and pocket knives. I also borrowed some metal rings for Adrian to infuse with spirit in case of emergencies." I nodded and Adrian took that point to barge in.

"Hey beautiful." He gave me a quick peck on the cheek and I gave him a small smile. I looked over at the clock on the wall.

"It's early for you, isn't it?"

"Yep" he answered, popping the p. "Just to see your beautiful face." I raised my eyebrows at him.

"Isn't that a little corny?" he shrugged. I let out a little chuckle and Dimitri got down to business as usual.

"Did you make the charms?" Adrian nodded

"I spent all night perfecting them."

"Great. When we go, we won't have time to pack our belongings. We just need a couple of weapons and those rings. Okay?" Dimitri was looking at the both of us. I was about to nod when Adrian interrupted me.

"Wait, wait. So I can't bring my cigarettes?" he asked, alarmed.

"You can always buy more outside. With you, money isn't a problem, is it? He was about to answer when I spoke first.

"You wouldn't be needing it anyway, you're quitting, remember?" I reminded him.

"But, but…." he tried to find a logical excuse "I have been using a lot of spirit lately. And on the trip, you'd need me to use more spirit, I might go crazy and turn strigoi like crazy Karp." He babbled.

"Just one pack." Said Dimitri. "Like I said, you can buy more if you need it." Adrian gave me a little shrug.

"When are we leaving?" Adrian asked Dimitri

"Noon." He replied. At that point, Christian came to sit with us. The three of us went silent.

"What?" he asked suspicious.

"Nothing" Adrian and I chorused as one. Christian raised his eyebrows at us but dismissed it when he remembered something important.

"Oh yeah, I nearly forgot." He turned to me. "Umm….have you spoken to the guardians about what you saw with Lissa?"

"Umm…." I hesitated, I looked towards the boys for a little help and find that Adrian was looking across the room and Dimitri was looking down at the table. Great, I was on my own. "Yeah, I have." I lied.

"Oh, good." He sighed in relief. "So why aren't they doing anything?"

"Because they don't know where she is." I tried to keep my face blank of emotions. "We need more information than this."

"Have you been in her head since?" I shook my head.

"They're still compelling her to block me." He nodded, not showing any signs that he knew I was lying. He stood up.

"Okay, I'm going to the feeders. See you guys later, kay?" I nodded and gave him a brief smile. He'd be so angry when he finds out he won't be seeing us later and that we went on a trip to save his girlfriend. I sighed and stood up.

"Okay, I'll see you guys later, yeah? I've got stuff to do." I really didn't, but it'd better than being stuck here. Dimitri also stood up.

"Yeah, so we're good with the plan? We all nodded. "Okay then. I'll see you in front of Adrian's room." And with that he took off. I gave Adrian a little kiss on the cheek and told him I'll meet him later and went off towards the gym. I needed a workout. There were two gyms here—a big gym and a small gym. I headed for the small gym due to the fact that nobody ever went there.

When I got there, I headed towards the field for a run. I was on my third lap when I caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of my eye. I realized it was Dimitri. He was watching me too but I didn't let that stop me running He had on a grey t-shirt which showed his abs and muscles in all the right places and a tracksuit pants. I sighed internally. He was so damn good looking that I struggled to keep my focus on my running.

When I finally got tired of running, I decided to head inside to do some exercise. Dimitri was nowhere in sight. Maybe he got tired and went, so I headed in and went over to the punching bag. I threw a hit towards it and it flew backwards and hit me on the knee which sent my knee throbbing. Okay, not a good idea when you don't have anyone to hold the bag for you. I bent down and rubbed my knee to sooth the pain. When I straightened up, Dimitri was holding the punching bag for me. I looked around the room. Where did he come from? I didn't even hear him come in.

"Common." He urged "Hit it" He gestured towards the punching bag. I didn't rethink. I punched the bag as hard as I could. I continuously hit the bag with my right hand. I remembered when we used to do this back at the academy, back when he was still training me. The memory made me angry and I hit it once more which made Dimitri stagger a little. He let out a little grunt "Easy Rose" I sighed and stepped away from the punching bag and headed towards the weights.

"What are you doing?

"Weights" I replied. At least that didn't need him to guide me through it and tell me what to do. He followed me over. I picked two dumbbells up and lifted it. Dimitri also lifted two dumbbells but it was way heavier than mine. I sighed. _Don't pay attention to him._ My brain repeated over and over. His face turned uncomfortable which was a rarity with him. "What?" I asked, fighting hard not to smile at the familiarity.

"Nothing. It's just…" He paused. "How did you do on your trials?" I was shocked. It was out of the blue. My trials were back in the summer and every graduate had to complete in it to graduate and become a guardian. I had the best score out of my class. I remember I had to do a different course during it.

"It was…" I didn't know how to describe it "Challenging." I finished. He nodded.

"You got top of your class?" he asked. I nodded. I told him my score and his face took on a new factor. Pride. Pure, radiant pride. He smiled at me and nodded. "I'm so, so proud of you."I couldn't help but smile—actually, it was much more than a smile. Dimitri hasn't said that for a very long time and having him being proud of me felt good. My mum had said the exact same thing when I completed it. I sighed.

"Thanks." I couldn't think of what to say next so the typical Rose Hathaway showed its face. "I couldn't have done it without your training comrade, but I think you'd be quite stumped on the trial. The guardians didn't even know how to get out of my situation themselves." That rewarded me with a smile—not a half smile but a full one! He rarely shows people a full smile, especially me. He glanced around the room and his eyes lingered on a part of the room and his face fell. I glanced behind me to see what the cause was and my eyes found the clock hanging on the wall. It read 12 o'clock. Midday—boy, time flies when you're having fun. I turned back to Dimitri.

It was time.

**A/N: Next chapter is the breakout. Reminder: new character please. So enjoy. And again, please comment and add to fav stories and story alert. Please suggest to your friends. Thanks. Next chapter up as soon as possible. Love you all. xoxo**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys, this chapter is the long awaited breakout chapter. Reminder again about the new character. Enjoy. Love you. Xoxo**

Dimitri and I walked with our guardians towards Adrian's room in silence, both of us taking in what needed to be done. I ran the situation in my head a few times to sooth the nervousness and fear that was coursing through me. My mind replayed the same question over and over—_would I make it out of here alive?_ As if Dimitri could read my mind, he suddenly whispered so our guardians couldn't hear.

"Don't worry. We'll-" he paused, and then corrected. "I'll keep you safe." He promised. He was doubting Adrian but it was true, he couldn't protect me physically—Hell, I'd be protecting him if it really came down to it—but he could protect me by altering my appearance and although, it's not literally protecting me, he was protecting me the only way he could—with spirit—and I would always be grateful for that.

We finally reached our destination and found Adrian was already there waiting for us. He looked like a mess. His perfect face was covered with red blotches, sweat drenched his hands and his hair was tangled.

"Where have you guys been? You're late" He chastised, making sure our guardians didn't hear. I glanced at my watch

"We're only a couple of minutes late." I whispered.

"You're still late!" he whispered back. I raised my eyebrows at Dimitri and he just shrugged. I thought I was nervous but looking at Adrian now, my nervousness doesn't even compare to his. It was probably more than double mine. He grabbed my arm hard, opened the door and ushered us in, leaving our guardians outside. When we got inside, we quickly got to business. We took all the things we needed and packed it. Adrian gave us our rings and we hurriedly put it on. I took three deep slow breathes.

"Ready?" asked Dimitri. He was looking directly at Adrian who was sweating like a pig. His face took on a new emotion that I've never seen before. It was a mixture of fear, nervousness, worry and excitement.

"Are you okay Adrian? You don't have to come with us. We can always do it by ourselves." I suggested. He shook his head.

"Nah, I'm good. Let's go." Adrian encouraged. I sighed, Adrian can be so stubborn.

"Ready?" Dimitri repeated, this time to me. I nodded. Dimitri pressed play and slowly opened the window of Adrian's room. The creaks weren't heard due to the loud recording. Dimitri gestured to the window. I slipped through easily—one of the advantages of being short and slim. Adrian was next. He had a little trouble but managed to fit through. Dimitri gave me an unsure look when it was his turn. I nodded encouraging to him. He slipped his leg through without a problem but when it came to squeezing his lower hip area through, he got somewhat stuck. Now, out of all the problems that I thought I would encounter, this wasn't even close to being on the list. I would've laughed if this wasn't threatening my life.

"Help?" I heard Dimitri grunt. I grabbed his right leg and gestured to Adrian to grab the other. He did and we tugged him out. In the process, he bumped his head hard on the window ledge and he made another loud grunt.

"Whoops" I said, covering my mouth trying desperately not to laugh. "Sorry." I apologized. He waved away the apology and stood up brushing himself off.

"Okay. Let's go." He puffed. We started running with Adrian and I on his trail. After a while, Adrian had a hard time catching up with us and at some points, we slowed down, just for him to keep up with us. We nearly there when we spotted Christian so we stopped running and caught our breaths. He stared at us, trying to see through the rings. He kept on walking pretending not to notice him. He approached us with a polite look on his face.

"I'm sorry but do I know you? You look Kind of familiar." He spoke directly to me. I gave him my best confused look.

"No, I'm sorry, I'm new here." I lied. He had a concentrating face on and blinked a couple of times, like he was waking up from a daydream.

"Rose?" He asked, finally seeing through the rings.

"No!" I argued. "Who's Rose?" I asked, trying to play dumb but he wasn't falling for my act. He wasn't paying attention either. He was looking at the rings on my finger, then Dimitri's and finally Adrian.

"Rose, Adrian and Dimitri, I'm guessing?" I sighed. There isn't anything I could keep from him anymore.

"You have to keep this quiet. We have to go. I'll explain when we get back." I promised.

"No."

"What?" I asked confused.

"No." He repeated. "I'm coming with you. You're going to see Lissa. Am I right?" He asked. "You lied. You know where she is." He accused

"No, you're not coming with us Christian." I argued.

"Yes"

"Can you compel him for me?" I whispered to Adrian and he nodded.

"You're going to let us through and you're going to keep quiet about Lissa. You will forget that you ever saw us." He compelled.

"Yes." Replied Christian, totally focused on Adrian's emerald green eyes.

"Can you compel him to go inside and stay there?" Dimitri told Adrian and again, he nodded.

"You will go inside. You will stay there for an hour." Christian didn't even say a word. He just went wondered inside like nothing unusual happened. We started running again. Every now and then, Dimitri and I would check our surroundings for any threats. Finally—what felt like ages—we reached the small black SUV that Dimitri borrowed off an 'inside friend' as he called it. Dimitri gestured towards the boot.

"Are you serious!" I puffed, clearly tired from the run.

"We can't risk it. Even with the rings, it's dangerous. You saw how it went with Christian." I opened my mouth to argue, and then closed it again. The boot wasn't comfortable, but neither was a jail cell, which I'd end up in—again—if I don't hurry. I sighed loudly and made my way over to the boot.

"Sorry Rose." Dimitri apologized before slamming the boot shut. It was very dark and stuffy and I felt like I couldn't breathe. A sudden lurch of the car caught me unexpectedly and my body flung itself to the other side of the boot hitting my head hard. I let out a loud grunt and Dimitri must've heard because suddenly the car stopped again abruptly causing my body to lurch back into my original position—thankfully this time, I didn't bump my head.

"I'm fine." I called out before he came to make sure I was okay. He started the car again but this time I was prepared. I placed my feet on the other side of the boot, putting pressure on it, so that my body wasn't being flung from side to side like a dead body. I allowed myself a moment to relax. I took some deep slow breathes and closed my eyes.

_Rose? _I opened my eyes. Was I hallucinating? _Rose? Are you okay? Where are you? _Ahhh, Thank god, I wasn't going crazy. It was Lissa. She was sending me messages through the bond. I wished I could've responded but well, I couldn't, because of the stupid one way bond. I went to visit her. She was at the hotel but now Victor was here, but there was no sight of Robert. Lissa just woke up and was rubbing her eyes.

"What have you done with Rose?" she asked sleepily.

"Oh, don't worry, She's safe." He replied with a smirk. "You'll be seeing her soon." He paused. "I hope." He added.

"What do you mean, I'd be seeing her soon? She's not coming here is she?" she asked shocked. He stepped forward and looked directly into Lissa's eyes, she thought he was talking to her but I knew better—he was looking at me, speaking to me.

"She wouldn't want to see you _die."_ He hissed. Those green eyes burned into me and I couldn't watch anymore. I couldn't watch him torturing her. I slipped back into my own body and found that the car was at a top again. I heard mumblings but I couldn't pick out what they were actually talking about. I strained to hear and I picked out the words, Hathaway and missing. My heart was beating fast and I was surprised the guards couldn't hear.

"Stop Them!" I heard someone yell. The screeching of tyres droned out the rest of what the person was saying. We sped past them and drove on for another 30 minutes before I heard the car stop and a door slamming. Someone opened the boot and the sun's brightness blinded me. My vision was blurred and I blinked a couple of times until I saw the brownness of my Russian god's eyes. I slowly climbed out of the boot and made my way over to the car

"What happened?" I asked him

"We nearly got caught." He admitted.

"Yeah, I got that part." I teased, trying—and failing—to lighten the mood.

"They're going to find us." Adrian finally spoke. He looked better than before which was good.

"That's why we need to hurry. We have to take a private jet." He said this to Adrian knowing that he had the money that we didn't have. Adrian nodded.

"Don't worry. I got that covered."

And with that, we headed to the airport.

**A/N: I'm sorry if this is short. I had major writer's block on this. It's really sloppy, I know but I promise I'll make it up to you in the next chapter. I'll give you some rose and dimitri action going on okay? thanks guys. xoxo **


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry it took soooooo long. Practically no excuse this time, just plain old writer's block. Uggg, sorry. Enjoy**

**-teamdimka**

The private jet was quite small, but cosy. I went and sat at the back of the plane hoping that when it lifter off, I won't have a massive headache. I shuddered at the memory of when I saw the ghosts. Adrian and Dimitri finished talking to the priest. Adrian stayed to have a smoke after all the madness whereas Dimitri was making his way towards the jet. His eyes lingered at the spot next to mine but sat in the row in front of me. Finally, Adrian boarded the plane.

"Mind if I sit?" Adrian gestured towards the chair.

"Knock yourself out." Then I felt it, the emotional pull of Lissa. The fear that was coursing through her sucked me into her head. She was back at the warehouse and Victor and the strigoi was there, but again, no Robert.

"Go ahead John." Victor gestured over to Lissa. "Have your treat." The strigoi's face brightened over to Lissa. I knew what was going to happen before he bent in to get a better view of her neck. I didn't want to stick around to experience her pain so I pulled out of Lissa's head and returned to reality.

"Earth to Rose?" Adrian waved his hands over my face, but I wasn't paying attention to him. My attention was focused on the throbbing headache that was taking over my body. I abruptly stood up and looked around, panicked. Adrian had backed off seeing my face. The faces of the ghosts were ones I recognised—Lissa's parents, Andre, Isaiah, Galina, mason and much more.

"Go away!" I shouted, trying hard to block them out. They all looked upset and they pointed behind them showing a black vortex.

"Go!" I shouted. Finally, one by one, they faded leaving only mason. "I thought you found peace." I questioned. He opened his mouth and nodded. "You did find peace?" I replied relieved. He opened his mouth again and shook his head, then nodded before he faded away like the others. I sank back in my chair. Mason left me so confused.

"Roza?" I slowly met Dimitri's eyes "What happened?" I shook my head. I didn't want him to know. Basically because of his past experience with ghosts. I shuttered at the memory of the night.

"Nothing for you to worry about." I replied still confused. I rested my head in my hands. I still had the headache but it wasn't as bug as when the ghosts were here.

"Can we get you anything?" Adrian asked

"A bucket of aspirin!" I exaggerated. Adrian rushed out of the room, leaving Dimitri and I alone.

"Rose." He began sternly "Tell me what happened." I sighed and shook my head.

"You saw ghosts, didn't you?" he guessed.

"Hmmm…"

"Did you see—."

"Can we just leave it?" I interrupted. He gave me a sympatric look and nodded. Adrian came back and gave me the pills and a cup of water. I threw the tablets in my mouth and drank.

"You should get some rest, little dhampir." He suggested "You look like you need it." I gave him a small smile and laid my head on the back seat while I drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

I woke up to the sound of my name though I kept my eyes closed hoping to ears-drop since they were talking about me. I knew the familiar voices by heart. Adrian and Dimitri. They were having an argument. It was a quite one –hoping they won't wake me—but it could be easily heard.

"What have you done to Rose?" Adrian shouted

"Nothing." Dimitri replied, voice calm. Even though I could see him, I knew he was fighting to keep control of his emotions.

"Bullshit. I can read auras remember?" Dimitri stayed silent. "What? So you don't care if Rose's hurt?" Who says I'm hurt?

"It's not my business."

"It _is_ your business when you're causing the hurt." I heard Dimitri sigh

"What do you want Ivashkov? He hissed.

"I want you to show her some respect! She has feelings too, you know."

"You're lucky that you're a royal." He replied before I heard footsteps.

"What? Scared to punch a royal?" Adrian chuckled "Try me Belikov." I thought it was a good time to 'wake up' now since I didn't want to see Adrian and Dimitri fight—especially over me. I made a grunting noise to make it sound believable and to get their attention. I blinked a couple of times and yawned. The two guys already sprang away from each other and were looking at me.

"What?" I asked sounding curious

"Nothing" they chorused as one. I gave both of them questioning looks when Dimitri stomped out of the room towards the front of the plane.

"We're nearly there little dhampir." He said taking his seat next to mine. We spent the rest of the trip in silence. When we finally got there, I was the first to get out of the plane. It was sunny and the fresh air was refreshing. I took a moment to stretch and take in our surroundings. We called down to get a cab.

"Where to?" asked the driver looking directly at Dimitri. He gestured towards me.

"Umm…" I tried remembering the name "The Luxor, please." We drove in silence with Adrian's arm draped across my shoulders. There was tension in the small cab—Dimitri and Adrian usually threw each other death glares which I was pretty aware of. Finally, we reached the Luxor.

"Here." Adrian handed me his credit card "Go check us in, I'm going to check the games out." Before he finish talking, he was halfway there. I sighed loudly. What else did you expect from Adrian? I made my way over to the counter with Dimitri at my side. The girl at the counter smiled up at me warmly.

"Hi sweetie" sweetie? How old was I? 10? Her name tag said her name was Sarah Firebug "How may I help you?"

"Umm… I'd like to check in."

"Hmm…" she typed a few keys on her computer. "How many rooms?" she asked, not looking away from her computer.

"Umm…." I hesitated. Usually, it would be three—one for the guys and one for me—but I didn't want Adrian and Dimitri to share a room. Who knows what'd happen if I leave for one minute. "Three, please." She nodded her head while still typing away.

"Okay, here are the keys to your rooms." She finished typing and handed me the keys. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Umm…Yes. Is any of the rooms under a name of Victor Dashkov?" She turned back to her computer and after a while she shook her head.

"I'm sorry honey." I gave her a warm smile, thanked her and walked away.

When we reached our room, I decided to visit Lissa. I haven't seen Robert for a while so I was hoping to this time was no different. I sat on my bed and slipped in. she was back in the hotel room. I was trying to see what her room number was. She was alone now, no one was in the room with her so I wasn't worried about Robert. She finally looked up and I caught a glimpse of the door room—that was all I needed. I slipped back into my own body grateful for Lissa's co-operation.

I rushed out of the room and down the stairs. I approached the counter for the second time in five minutes. Sarah looked a little shocked to see me in such a rush.

"Hi." I smiled at her.

"Hey sweetie." I groaned internally.

"Can you tell me who's in room K039?"

"Umm…" she looked confused "Sure honey" What was with the nicknames? She began to type into her computer once more.

"Umm….it's under the name of Bob Brown." Bob Brown? Suddenly I got it and I began to chuckle which gave me a 'are you crazy' look from the women behind the counter. Victor checked in with a fake name—of course.

"Thanks." I said before walking away. I was grinning from ear to ear while knocking on Dimitri's door. He answered immediately.

"Rose?" he asked, seeing my stupid grin.

"K039." He gave me a confused look

"Are you okay Rose?"

"I'm fine." I assured "Lissa. Lissa is in the room K039." Understanding finally crossed his face and he became thinking up tactics.

"I say we just go in there and knock the shit out of them." I expected a chastisement or a shake of the head instead….

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea." I blinked. Then I blinked again. What did he just say?

"What?" I asked confused. He chuckled.

"I'd thought you'd be busting that door by now Rose." He admitted.

"Wait. So you're agreeing with me?"I was still very confused. Why would he agree with me?

"Is that too hard to understand Rose?" he let out a another little chuckle

"Very" I admitted. He shook his head while his chuckle got louder.

We bumped into Adrian and told him the plan. We thought it was best to just leave it to Dimitri and I.

"What! No, I'm coming with you. I have compulsion remember?"

"No. it's too dangerous Adrian."I comprehended. He still looked hesitant. I put on my puppy dog eyes. "Please?" he let out a little chuckle, clearly seeing through my act but reluctantly he agreed.

"But, only on one condition." I gave him a questioning look

"What's that?"

"If you call me when you're in trouble." I let out a laugh. Adrian was so overprotective these days.

"I'm pretty sure I won't have any trouble with Victor Dashkov but alright." He smiled at me and I smiled back at him. We went upstairs towards the room of 'Bob Brown'

"Can you give me some warning as to what's in that room?" asked Dimitri. I nodded and slipped into Lissa's mind. She wasn't alone anymore—damn!—she was with Victor and the strigoi named John. I slipped out.

"Umm…Victor's in there along with a strigoi."

"Okay. I'm going to take the strigoi and you take Victor?"

"What!" I asked shocked "No, I'll take the strigoi. I can do it, you know."

"That's not what I meant." Dimitri argued. "Victor would automatically go for Vasilisa knowing that you love her." I think he nearly flinched at the word 'love'. "So, you have to protect her but getting the princess out as soon as possible" I took at moment to think it over. It was true, Victor knew that I would go for Lissa before anyone else so I'd have to bring him down. I nodded finally agreeing

"Okay then." I said, checking if both of us have a steak. "The strigoi would be near the door. Lissa's on my bed and Victor is on her right."

"Perfect." We both gave Adrian goodbye looks.

"Ready?" I asked

"Ready" he replied before we smashed our bodies into the door and it came tumbling down to reveal…

**A/N: cliffffffy!**

**Tell me wht you think**


	13. Chapter 13

***disclaimer* **

**Enjoy **

The room was erupted with Lissa's screams until she finally recognised me and quietened down. Victor ironically jumped into front of Lissa in a defensive stance and produced a stake from his pocket while Dimitri and the strigoi just stood there. Wait—Dimitri's just standing there? Why? He was never the one to hesitate.

"Stay back!" barked Victor. "Stay back or she dies." He pushed the stake in harder but not enough to pierce the skin. Reluctantly, I backed off not wanting Lissa to get hurt but Dimitri was still just standing there looking at the strigoi but after what felt like years, he backed off. But when he did, the strigoi chuckled and I gave Dimitri a 'what the fuck?' look.

"Dimitri Belikov." The strigoi began. He also had a strong Russian accent "We meet again." What? How did he know Dimitri and what did he mean by 'again'?

"John" Dimitri greeted

"You know him?" Victor interrupted talking specifically to the strigoi and gesturing towards Dimitri.

"I knew him when he was a strigoi." He admitted. "Too bad I have to kill him now." All this time, my thoughts were directed towards Lissa. They come first. She was screaming my name through the bond and I hated to see her like this.

"What do you want?" I hissed

"What I wanted from the start." I gave him a questioning look. "Power." He answered. If the situation wasn't threatening my best friend's life, I would've laughed

"Then why do you need Lissa?" he had a wicked smirk on his face

"Haven't you heard? Vasilisa was on Tatiana's will to be the new queen." I was pretty sure my jaw nearly hit the floor. I gaped at him and turned to Lissa. The bond told me the information he gave was correct but there was more. Victor kidnapped her because he wanted her to make a will that stated that Victor would be the next king if she dies. She didn't want to tell me the next part though I knew pretty well what Victor's next plan was. He was going to kill Lissa. He chuckled when he saw understanding flick across my face.

"You wouldn't dare." I hissed through grunted teeth. His grin widened and he spoke to the strigoi

"Kill them." He instructed. "Kill them both." He gestured towards Dimitri and I.

"NO!" I heard Lissa scream before she was dragged out of the room towards the bathroom. I heard it lock as victor prevented her screams. The strigoi that was fast approaching us headed for Dimitri first. I quickly grabbed my stake and when I looked up Dimitri already had his stake out and was trying to get an opening to his heart while the strigoi tried to get near his neck. Slowly and silently, I crept behind the strigoi hoping to distract him so Dimitri could have his shot.

"Hey!" I shouted my stake poised and ready. He looked back at me and that was all it needed for Dimitri to stake him. I saw his eyes go wide with shock and his lips part before he collapsed towards the ground. Dimitri and I were breathing heavily and we both looked around the room and rested on the locked bathroom door.

"Common." He urged "Follow me." He led the way then he stopped in front of the door and slammed his body weight on it to bring it crashing to the ground. I searched frantically around the bathroom but neither Lissa nor Victor was anywhere to be seen. I jogged over to the toilets and found an open window. Damn. A thought crossed my mind. How stupid could I be?

"I have the bond." I stated to no one but myself. I shook my head seeing how silly it was and slipped into her mind. She was across the street with Victor holding her by the arm and they were running but unforuntalny —for Victor—the sun was out so they were having trouble running. I easily slipped out of her head and ran out of the toilet looking for Dimitri. I spotted him over by the bathtub

"Come on, I know where they are." I admitted "but we've got to hurry." We ran out of the room and saw a shocked Adrian. He gave me a questioning look.

"We've got to go but wait for us back at the rooms" I said but before he had time to respond, I was out of the hall with Dimitri. We ran side by side out of the hotel and across the street. We were faster than Moroi so we were pretty sure we'd catch up to them.

As we predicted, we caught up to them in no time.

"Stop Victor!" I called out to him "There's nowhere to run." We didn't plan to fight Victor due to two reasons. One, although he was a criminal, he was still a royal Moroi and two, because it would just be too fucken easy but Victor had other plans. He shoved Lissa aside, which Dimitri caught hold of and guided her to a much safer place—looks like this one was on me—while Victor lunged at me. I dodged it easily and he nearly stumbled. I couldn't help but let out a little laugh. This time, he tried to grab me by the arm—again, I easily dodged it. I was near the wall when he lunged at me again, I quickly jumped out of the way and this time, he stumbled into the wall. I wasted no time. I quickly rushed over to him and knocked him unconscious by slamming his head against the wall being sure not to kill him in the process—something Dimitri taught me how to do.

I looked around and saw Lissa and Dimitri near a safe private place. I strolled over to them leaving behind Victor.

"Are you alright Liss?" I asked her. She looked terrible. She was usually pale but these days, she was much paler due to the shock and of the vampire endorphins. She was also shivering although the sun was out. She nodded but I didn't believe her. I unzipped my coat and draped it around her. I looked over at Dimitri.

"What do we do know?" I asked. He scrunched his eyebrows up—a sign that told me he was concentrating.

"It's too private here. We have to get back to the hotel room."

"Wouldn't they get suspicious if we drag an unconscious body across the lobby?" he took a little time to think this over.

"We'll go through the window." He suggested. I raised an eyebrow at him

"Remember the last time that happened?"I saw the end of his lips curl up into a half smile—always a half smile. He shrugged

"Got a better idea?" I didn't even think. If there was a better idea, Dimitri would've thought of it so instead of unleashing the Rose Hathaway, I just shook my head which earned me an eyebrow raise from Dimitri.

We dragged the unconscious body though the streets towards our hotel which wasn't very far away and stopped when we were at our window. Unforuntalny our room was on the second floor so we couldn't just slip through.

"Rose, why don't you bring the princess to your room and then help me with Victor?" I nodded and looped my arm around Lissa's and steered her towards the entrance of the hotel.

"Rose?" she squeaked

"Yeah Liss?"

"Thank you." I smiled at her.

"Anytime Lissa. Anytime." She smiled weakly at me. Finally, I got her upstairs and told her to have a hot shower before resting. She nodded and looked relieved when I mentioned a shower. When she was showering, I opened up my window and saw Dimitri there with Victor.

"Can you handle the weight?"

"Pttp! Easy!" he rolled his eyes and held Victor above his head. He was tall so it wasn't as hard. I grabbed his hands and pulled him into the room. When he was on the floor, I looked down at Dimitri.

"You coming?" I asked.

"Umm….I think I might take the long way." He admitted which caused me to abrupt with laughter. I closed the window and sat down on the bed and a couple of minutes later, there was a knock at them door. I peeped through the hole and saw a breath-taking Russian God. I opened it and coaxed him to come in.

"You should tie him up." He said gesturing towards Victor. I nodded and grabbed some rope from the weapon bag Dimitri brought. I started with his hands using a technique that Dimitri taught me that ensures he wouldn't get away anytime soon. I did the same with his legs and stuffed a cloth around his mouth for him to shut the fuck up. There was another knock at the door and Dimitri answered it to reveal a very anxious Adrian.

"Did you find Lis—." He cut himself off as soon as he saw the unconscious Victor. "Where is she?" I gestured towards the bathroom.

"shower." I answered. When Lissa finished showering, I help her clean up and to get some food and water in her system before she dosed off on my bed. I figured it was time for us to go to bed too but needed someone to watch over Victor unless he tries to escape. Adrian got restless a while ago and headed off to sleep leaving us.

"I'll do it." Volunteered Dimitri.

"No, you should get some sleep. I'll babysit him."

"No," he argued "You need it as much as I do." I wanted to argue but I just couldn't find the strength. He was right. I _was_ tired and sleepy.

"Okay."I said, giving up "You sure you going to be okay?" he nodded.

"Go, sleep. I'll take care of everything." He assured.

"Wake me if anything happens." I said before snuggling under the covers and falling asleep with Dimitri watching over me.

**Yes, I know it's short. It's late and I can't be bothered checking over it so if there's any mistakes, pls let me know. Thankyou, don't forget to review! Night xoxo **


	14. Chapter 14

***disclaimer***

**Enjoy!**

I woke up pretty early—which was a rarity for me—feeling really good which I haven't been for a very long time due to issues with Lissa, my own execution if I was found guilty—which was likely considering the evidence—and my own guy problem. I pushed the covers off and got up with a huge smile on my face that I couldn't help. I looked around the room. Victor was still at the corner of the room, surprisingly still unconscious. Lissa was fast asleep on the bed next to mine and I decided to let her get a little more sleep but Dimitri was nowhere in sight. I pulled the curtains aside and looked out. It was pretty early (for Moroi) and the sun was slowly setting. Even though we were out in the human world, we still kept to the Moroi schedule.

I changed quickly changed into a t-shirt and shorts—which I brought at the shops near the hotel—but I didn't bother to put my coat on because I wanted so desperately to watch the sun set. I haven't done it for quite a while and I've missed the warmth and protection I felt near its presence. I sure that Victor was locked up in the bathroom not wanting him to wake up and scare Lissa anymore than she already is. I left quietly being careful not to wake Lissa up in the process. I pushed the doors of the balcony open and the scene before me was more than perfect.

The sun was its reddish-orangeish-yellowish shade and I would've thought it was beautiful if I didn't have to compare it with the Russian god sitting in front of me. He was standing with his hands on the rails looking over the sunset and surprisingly didn't hear me come in but I was glad. I didn't want him to see me, I want to keep watching him. The sun glittered off his hair making the brown curls look almost blond. I let a little smile escape my lips. I haven't seen Dimitri so at peace. His face showed many emotions that I wasn't use to seeing. I have seen it once before in the church but that one was filled with all the opposite emotions that this Dimitri was showing. There was beauty, happiness, longing, peace and was that love I saw?

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I said, breaking the silence. He almost jumped at my voice. Almost. He turned around and gave me a smile—a half one.

"Yeah, it is. I've always loved the sun" He admitted. I wasn't talking about the sun when I motioned beautiful, I added silently. I walked over and stood next to him. It was a fairly cold evening (morning for Moroi) and I could feel his body heat radiating off mine and the electricity we shared was impossible to ignore. As if he could read my mind, he suddenly asked "Where's your coat?"

"My room." I replied trying hard to keep my teeth from chattering.

"Why didn't you wear it?"

"I wanted to see the sun set."I admitted. He let out a laugh! A real laugh, not a chuckle but a laugh! It was one of the best sound I've heard in my life but this one was better because it was filled with love and longing.

"Are you cold? Do you want my jacket?" Boy, I wanted that duster alright. I wanted it bad! But I didn't want to admit it and I was also cold. Very cold with my shorts and t-shirt.

"No, I'm fine" I lied. He let out something between a sigh and a laugh and shook his head.

"Rose, you really are a bad liar." He teased. I had a sense of déjà vu of when we were back at the academy still falling in love. I woke up after having watched Lissa and Christian have sex and went out for some fresh air without my coat and I also bumped into him on a balcony like this one. I told him that I had a nightmare which technically wasn't so far off. Back to reality, he took his duster off—even though I refused—and draped it on my shoulder letting me drown in the heavily smell of his aftershave. Hmmm….it was one of the intoxicating smells I've experienced but it was also the best. I hugged it around me savouring the smell and committing it to memory knowing that I might not experience this in a while or never again. That thought saddened me and I didn't want to think of the future or the past. I want to think of now. This moment. Our moment.

As we stood there, I had a sudden urge to touch him. Sometimes our arms would brush the other's and the electricity would go though us once more. His left hand was still on the rail but his right was beside me and I wanted desperately to hold it in mine. My hand crept forward but he saw it and jerked his hand away from mine like I had some disease. My heart broke once more—I didn't even know that was possible—but I hated myself for acting that way. I shouldn't have ruined our moment.

"Rose" he said sternly

"I'm sorry." I said lamely. No, why should I be sorry? I did nothing wrong. "No. You know what? I'm not sorry. What I did wasn't wrong." I argued.

"Rose." He repeated. "Please Don't." he pleaded. I took a step forward and he stepped back.

"What? Do I have some sort of disease?" I asked and took a step forward. He was now standing near the entrance of the door, his back to the wall and before I began to think, I attacked his lips. He was doubtful at first but responded as eagerly when I continued. His lips were soft against mine and I felt his hand interlace with my hair and caressing my face when we kissed. He ended the kiss way too soon but didn't walk out of the room or take a step back. His face was fairly close to mine and I pressed my forehead against his.

"Roza." He whispered. "Don't" he said before taking a step back and walking off. I sighed and walked back towards the railing. I wrapped Dimitri's duster around me tighter and rested my hands on the rail. The sun was down now and the greyish sky looked dull and gloomy. I sighed again and made my way towards my room. I opened the door silently hoping not to wake Lissa up and hanged the duster up—not wanting Lissa, or anyone else to question it. As I closed the closet door, I heard a bang from the bathroom and made my way to check it out. As I opened it, I saw Victor on his knees, his back facing to the window trying to open it. Because, I tied him up with his hands behind his back, he had some trouble opening the window due to the fact he couldn't see where to open it. I burst out laughing even though my worst enemy was trying to escape before my eyes.

"Rose?" someone whispered. I turned around to see Lissa trying to see behind me into the bathroom. Shit! My loud outburst caused Lissa to wake up.

"It's okay Liss." I assured. "Everything's fine. Go back to sleep." She shook her head, untangled the sheets and made her way over to me. She let out a large gasp when she saw what was happening. Before I could assure her everything was fine and that Victor couldn't her anymore, she—just like me—had burst into laughter. I was surprised but relieved at the same time. Surprised because it's so unlike her to just burst out laughing—especially at someone who just tortured her. Twice. And relieved because she wasn't freaking out that Victor was there and trying to escape.

"Liss?" I questioned when she stopped laughing.

"Hmm…?" she asked

"Are you okay?"

"Yep." She answered, popping the 'p'. I gave her a confused look. She wasn't acting like herself today.

"Maybe you should take a shower while I take care of him for a second." I suggested. I didn't want her anywhere near Victor although I knew I could take him out easily but no way was I taking chances with Lissa's life on the line.

"Okay." she answered. I gave her a quick smile before I stepped in the bathroom, grabbed Victor by the arm and forced him up. I wasn't going to carry him. He reluctantly stood up grumbling under his breath.

"Patience is a virtue." He said. What? He sounded like one of Dimitri's Zen lessons but even worse!

"Shut-up!" I chastised

"Arhhh, Rose, how much I've missed you." He replied. This guy was really nuts. I fixed him with a narrow-eye look

"It said shut-up!" I yelled though grunted teeth my voice turning cold. I didn't even recognise my own voice. Finally, he kept quiet and I let him towards the main room before I turned around and gave Lissa a little smile of encouragement. She returned it before closing the door behind her. When we were clear, I threw him on the ground.

"Wow, easy there Rose." He whined. This time, I ignored him instead of telling him to shut the fuck up. "Actually, now thinking about it, I'd rather have you babysitting me instead of that crazy Belikov man." He admitted. My curiosity perked up. Why? What did Dimitri do that was so horrible?

"Why?" I asked trying not to sound curious like the last time when Dimitri and I went to his cell and I asked him about being shadow kissed.

"Oh, you wouldn't want to know Rose." He admitted. That just made me more curious but I decided to drop it. I didn't want to sound desperate for answers and I don't care about what Dimitri does. Do I? Did that kiss out on the balcony mean anything to him? Does he even care? I stopped my mental babble before I went crazy with the unanswered questions spinning around my mind. Beside me, Victor let out a little chuckle.

"What's so funny?" I asked.

"You." He answered

"I won't be funny anymore when I punch the shit out of you." I replied. I was going to threaten him even more when the knock at the door cut me off. I peeped through the hole and saw Adrian standing there. Omg, I forgot about Adrian. My mind went back to the scene out on the balcony. A wave of guilt past though me. I was literally cheating on Adrian. I felt sad because of that. I love Adrian—maybe not the same way I love Dimitri—but the thought of not having him in my life saddened me. I let out a sigh. I have major guy issues. My mental babble distracted me from opening the door and there came another knock and I opened it to a very smiley Adrian.

"Hey little Dhampir." He greeted but his smile faded when he saw Victor on the floor.

"Mr Ivashkov." He began "Nice of you to join us." I glared at him before Adrian placed a light kiss on my cheek.

"Morning to you too Asshole." Adrian greeted back. I gave him a little smile and Victor chuckled.

"Boy, you two are a match made in heaven." He stated witch Adrian laughed at.

The whole morning was spent catching up and insulting Victor even more but I haven't seen Dimitri since the balcony scene. Thinking of Dimitri brought him knocking at our door. Lissa who came out of the bathroom long ago, answered it and ushered him inside. He looked over at me and I gave him a little smile which he ignored with his cold guardian mask. My good mood dropped. He was angry at me. My whole world came crashing down. My worst nightmare is slowly coming true.

"What are we going to do now?" he asked

"Go back to court?" suggested Adrian.

"Umm…" I hesitated "I need to stay." I admitted. Going back to court would probably end me in a jail cell and I needed to find Lissa's sibling if I didn't want to be executed. They'd given me a chance. They let me out, only for me to escape again. If I returned, there's no way, I could be free to roam around court again so I needed to find Lissa's sibling for her to get a place in the council so I could get out of being executed! It makes perfect sense.

"Why?" asked Adrian.

"Umm, I just need to do something personal." I lied.

"You're lying." Dimitri stated. Damn! He could always see through my lies.

"Look, I just want to enjoy my last days as Rose Hathaway then I'd be executed."

"You're not going to die Rose." Lissa said.

"Please, I need to do this." I begged.

"Fine, but we're coming with you." Dimitri stated

"No." I nearly shouted "I need to do this alone."

"This isn't one of your suicide missions. Is it?" added Adrian

"No." I said sternly

"Okay, fine. Do what you need to do." Adrian agreed. "I trust you fully." I gave him a smile of gratitude. Through the bond, I felt Lissa feel ashamed because she didn't say it first. She thought she should be the first to admit that she trusted me enough but didn't think of it first and that she would let me go do what I needed to do.

"Thanks Lissa." I turned to Dimitri expecting an answer. He sighed and I think I saw him tighten his jaw

"Fine." He said, trying to keep his emotions in order. "Do what you need to do." He added before walking out.

**A/N: Please comment. I made it a bit longer because I just love you all soooooo much. You guys are just way too nice with the comments, votes and becoming a fan. Thanks to people who have emailed me pushing me to upload. As annoying as it is, this story wouldn't have been up if it wasn't for you guys. Next upload soon. Thank you! Love you all. Have a nice night. Xoxo**

**-teamdimka **


	15. Chapter 15

All I can say is that im really really really x100000 times sorry that I couldn't get this done. I think this is the 2nd longest time I haven't updated. I know I usually update before the week rolls over but I was just busy this week. Sorry guys. Thanks to all of youse who's been so suppositive and patient. I love you guys!

Enjoy ;)

Victor was in my room when Lissa, Adrian and Dimitri was downstairs checking out and calling a cab and a private jet to be sent home.

"You should let me go." he said when I started pacing the room.

"And why would I do that?" I spat

"Because I have the information you need?" he replied. my curiosity spiked

"What information?"

"I heard you were searching for Vasilisa's sibling." My curiosity flared and it also came the shock of knowing Victor knew more than I did. He chuckled seeing my surprised expression.

"How do you know about that?" I asked trying to keep my face blank of all emotions coursing through me. He smiled a wicked grin

"You know, I knew you were going to come rescue Vasilisa. She's your best friend." The hell she is, i thought "And you'd do anything to protect her. Wouldn't you?"

"Get to the point, old man!" I exclaimed "Stop batting around the bushes!" he sighed

"I told you, patience is a virtue." He repeated. "Now, as I was saying, you'd do anything to protect Vasilisa and I got my trusty brother to dig around for the information for me. Haven't you noticed he wasn't with me all this time, Rose?" he questioned. Actually, I did notice but I thought they just had a fight and went their separate ways—Robert didn't like the way Victor bossed him around during Lissa's attack so I just thought they separated.

"What do you know?" I asked changing the subject

"Ahhh, Rose. Information comes at a price. You know?" I sighed loudly. He wanted me to let him go. Wow, Dimitri's gonna be pretty mad if he finds out. Maybe, he doesn't have to find out I thought. I could easily keep it away from him and I was a pretty good liar—well not to Dimitri, the one person I wanted to convince. Oh well, trying is better than nothing.

"Fine. You give me the information first, and then I'll let you go. I reasoned.

"How do I know you won't go back on your word?" he asked. I thought that over for some time and well, I couldn't find a reasonable answer

"Just give me the damn information before I punch it out of you." I threatened. He sighed and reached into a pocket to pull out a USB stick. I raised my eyebrows curiously

"All the information's in there." He cleared up. He handed it to me and I reluctantly took it. I stuck it in the laptop that Dimitri brought along. I didn't know why he brought it but Dimitri thinks of everything and I really needed it now. I opened up the file and scrolled through it. There was information about Lissa's dad. The dancers her dad left with from Vegas and bank accounts about Eric funding a large amount of money every month to the same bank account under the name of Jane Doe. Jane Doe, Jane Doe. That name rang a familiar bell in my head. I thought for a little while longer until I got it. Sydney had told me when we had our webcam conversation that Jane Doe what the account that Lissa's dad out money into. The information Sydney told me that was stolen was the information in front of me

"Did u steal this from the Alchemists?" I asked accusingly

"Hey, don't blame me! How else could've I got it?" I sighed loudly

"It's illegal" I chastised

"Fine then. Give it back." He had his hand out to me palms faced out. I shook my head. Maybe it was illegal but I still needed the information. "That's what I thought." He replied smugly. "Now can I go?" I thought about it a little while. I could just go back on my word. It'd be much better if I didn't have to lie to Dimitri but I wasn't one of those people who'd go back on their word. When Dimitri went back on his words that he'd always love me, I was determined to never go back on my word—even if that person was my worst enemy.

"Fine." I reached into my pocket and pulled out a stake. I easily cut the rope with my stake and did the same for the rope that was securing his legs together. He stood up and stretched. He looked old and tired. Victor rubbed his wrists which were red and bleeding from the ropes, he looked pained and sad. For once in a long time, I actually felt sympathy for Victor but it vanished when he nearly knocked me out with his fist when he tried to punch me. I was clearly distracted and didn't see it coming but the skill of my guardian training and the lack of his punch was enough to avoid his punch.

"You little bitch!" I yelled "Get your ass out of her before I kick it out!" I threatened opening the window. He stood there shocked. I pointed outside.

"You've got to be kidding right?"

"Hell no!" I said opening the window a little wider

"Can't I go down the stairs?" he argued

"Yeah, if you want to get caught by Dimitri and the others." He sighed loudly and hesitantly walked over towards the window. I thought of pushing him out but even for me, that was too mean to apprehend but that doesn't mean I couldn't threaten him about it. "Hurry up before I push you out of the window."

"Okay, okay." he said putting his hands up in surrender clearly scared that I'd actually push him. He put one leg over the window sill and then the other. I yawned clearly bored. Finally, he jumped and landed flat on his face. I couldn't help it and burst into laughter for the second time due to his clumsiness. I slowly closed the window and sat on the bet and scanned through the files that Victor gave me. I printed it out and slipped it under my bed before making my way downstairs to say goodbye to the others.

It was hard to say goodbye to Lissa especially when she needs me the most but I had to do this. I knew she won't like it but I had to do it for her benefits and mine. Dimitri was obviously mad at me but it wasn't like we were best buddies before all this. Even though we weren't the best of friends, it tore my heart out to see him go. He avoided eye contact with me and didn't even say goodbye. I hugged Adrian and gave him a light kiss before he told me to be careful and he got into the cab along with Lissa which didn't seem happy but had a smile on her face so she could cheer me up. Of course it didn't work—seeing I had the bond to check into. Dimitri was about to jump into the passenger seat before I grabbed his arm. Spark and electricity burned beneath our skin. He turned around and met my eyes.

"Can I talk to you?" I asked, fearing his answer. He hesitated for a moment before stepping away from the cab and turning to me. I started walking towards somewhere a little more private and stopped when we were near the corner of the building outside.

"What is it Rose? Our flight leaves in half an hour." He reminded me.

"Yeah, I know. It's just," I couldn't find the words to explain my situation "Are you okay with this?"

"Rose." He began sternly "I'm worried about you." He admitted. Before I could tell him I could take care of myself, he started talking again. "How do I know that this isn't something you're doing to put off going back to court?" he asked

"I-"

"What are you really doing? And what about Victor?" shit!

"Well-"

"When are you coming back?" he continued. Gosh, he was really annoying when he blabs.

"Will you let me get one sentence out!" I nearly shouted. I took a deep breath. Should I tell him? Can he be trusted? Tatiana had said in the note to tell as few as possible. Was Dimitri one of those few? I finally decided no. I would not tell Dimitri. This was something I had to do myself. "Okay, first, I'm not running from court because if I did, that would prove me even guiltier. Second, I'm doing," I hesitated. He waved his hands in a motion prompting me to continue. "Something to help Lissa and third, I'll report Victor when i get the chance" I lied

"And what exactly is that something?" he asked suspicious. I sighed but was thankful that he didn't ask about Victor.

"You just have to trust me on this."

"No!" he argued. "Remember the other time you said that?" There were so many times I've said that to him, I couldn't remember which one. "You saw ghost!" he practically shouted. Ahhh, now I remember

"Just trust me." I pleaded

"Please Rose, just tell me." He begged. I shook my head

.

"I can't" I croaked. Dimitri was scaring the hell out of me today.

"Argg!" he groaned. I got angry. If I didn't want to tell him, he shouldn't pressure me into it

"You know what? Just go." I waved him off.

"What?"

"Go. I don't want to see you anymore."

"Fine." He tried to clear his face of emotions and finally returned to his guardian face.

"I don't want you in my life anymore" I croaked before running up the stairs towards my room. When I finally returned to my room I was so angry, I wanted to hit someone so badly—Thank god there was no one else in the room. I punched the wall hard and it left a dint there where my fist connected to the wall. The pain that coursed through my hand was bearable enough but soon there'd be a bruise or something even worse. I couldn't take it anymore. I've tried being strong and I am strong but as the saying goes, the stronger you get, the harder you fall. My legs failed me and I fell down on my knees sobbing and clutching my stomach with full force trying to stop the pain that was within me.

I covered my face in my hands and let it out. Unforuntalny, it didn't soothe the pain, so I did what Lissa always did when she felt pain. I'd cut myself. I tried to get my stake out of my pocket. My vision was blurred due to the tears filling my eyes. I got a good hold on my stake and being careful not to cut any veins, I sliced through the skin of my right hand and into the flesh. It wasn't a deep cut but blood was spilled over my hands. I swapped hands and did the same with my left hand, this time a little deeper. It felt good to release the pain and the sorrow from me. I never knew why Lissa cut herself, now I understood perfectly. Lissa had always explained to me that she couldn't handle herself emotionally so by physically cutting herself, she's soothing the pain inside her emotionally. I never got what she meant but now I did. It felt as though the pain in my hands drowned out the pain that I felt in my heart.I didn't know how long I stayed there and cried but eventually, I cried myself to sleep.

Hey guys, this was a really hard chapter to write because I tried to keep it original. Some stories I've read had the same thing going on so I thought to make mine a little different. What do you guys think? Good? Bad? Please review. I haven't received much reviews lately and im starting to feel like you guys don't enjoy it but if u don't, ill stop writing so REVIEW~~~~~~~~~ thanks guys.

xoxo


	16. Chapter 16

**HI, DISCLAIMER. BYES!**

**ENJOY!~**

I woke up on the floor where I had fallen asleep and found my wrists dry of blood but surprisingly it didn't hurt. I goggling got up, washed away the dry blood and headed towards the first aid kit that Dimitri brought along and bandaged my wrists. When I was done, I felt tired even though it was still the middle of the day (for Moroi) and I just woke up. I sat on the bed and thought through the information that Victor had given me. I got on my knees and retrieved the printed files from under the bed.

I read through it and decided my next course of action. I was going to find Jane Doe. Sydney had told me that they couldn't track her so I didn't know if she really existed let alone where she could be now. She could be anywhere. I decided to call Sydney and see if she was making any progress—whatever it was, it'd certainly be better than mine. She answered on the third ring with a cheery voice I rarely heard

"Hello?"

"Hi Sydney, it's Rose."

"Rose? What's wrong?" it was kind of ironic of her to think that I would call her whenever something was wrong

"Nothing. Can't old friends have a chat without something wrong?" well, we really wasn't friends—she thought that I was a creature of the night and was a little scared of me—but we had been on good-ish terms.

"Ummmm….not with you." I chuckled imagining the confused look on her face.

"Okay, Okay. Do you have any other information on Eric Dragomir or the Jane Doe you told me about?" I asked getting to business.

"Umm….Alchemist information is private Rose." She reminded me.

"Yeah, but you did promise Abe to help him when needed and I am practically his daughter." I argued

"That's Abe. Not you." She told me sternly

"Fine, but Abe's going to be so mad at you later. He might move you back to Russia." I told her smugly. I heard an intake of breathe as shock and fear coursed through her. She took a little time to think and I couldn't help smiling that I stumped Sydney.

"Okay, fine." She said, finally giving up.

"Jane Doe's not a real name, that's why it was so hard for the Alchemists to track her down. Jane Doe's real name is Emma Garvin and she's a Las Vegas dancer."

"And have you tracked her down let?"

"We have." She admitted "but she had nothing to do with stealing the files. And when we asked her why Eric has been giving her large amounts of money, she said that he owned her."

"And you believe her?"

"No. Not exactly." She admitted "but it's none of our business. We just want to know who stole our files." I wanted to tell her that Victor had stolen the records but that would get me into trouble as well and she would take the information away from me so I kept my mouth shut.

"So you let her loose?" I asked

"Yeah, basically." She replied. My grin widened

"Thanks Sydney. I've got to go but thanks for the information. I owe you." I said in a rush. "Wait, I don't owe you. You owe my dad!" I reminded her once more.

"Uggg!" she whined

"Bye Sydney." I said before I hung up. I knew what I had to do but it would be really tricky.

My plan was to just walk in there and hope like hell that no one suspected me. I was at the backstage entrance of the dancer's stage hoping that Jane…errr, Emma Garvin was there. I had no plan whatsoever so I was just going t stroll in there and hope everything works to plan. I don't usually do this. I usually plan every tactic out before I face a situation but the dancer's are nearly ready to perform so I had to get in there before it happens. Okay, here it goes.

I took a deep breath and started walking. I opened the door and was confronted by madness. Everyone was running around, dancers were stressing and the designers and fashion gurus were yelling out orders to the dancers. A man who was bold, and was wearing all black spotted me. I figured he was a fashion designer due to the fact that he wore very fashionable clothes.

"What are you doing there?" he asked me. For once, I got caught. I didn't know what to do. Was he going to kick me out? Would I get into a fight with him? He clapped his hands together "Come on, Come on, the show starts in twenty minutes. I want to dressed and have make-up on in ten." He told me throwing a glittery dress, a lot of jewellery and very tall high heels and pushing me into a dressing room to get changed. Okay, out of all the possible ways of just walking in, I didn't expect this. I decided to go with it. It was the only way to get through and I really hoped the dance moves weren't that complicated or I'd really make a fool out of myself.

When I finished with dressing myself, I had a good look in the mirror. The dress was short. Really short. I looked like a slut or a hooker. The jewellery was too much. It was everywhere, my neck, my hands, fingers and toes—everywhere—I had my experiences with high heels and I could practically run in them but these were way too high that I couldn't even walk properly with them on. I stepped outside and the make-up artist did my make-up. It wasn't as good as the others since I came 'late'. When the dancers were all done, we got together in a room for the fashion designer to access us.

"Good, good, good" he kept repeating until his eyes rested on me. "Nice." He said, clearly checking me out. I rolled my eyes and some of the other dancers glared at me. Wow, the dancers were jealous of me? Me, Rose Hathaway? Wow, that's new! After he finished, he walked out of the room leaving the girls alone. It was my cue.

"Hey guys, which one of you is Emma Garvin?" I asked raising my voice so I could've been heard by every person in the room. A woman around her early-thirties spoke. She was brunette and very curvy. She was very pretty and surprisingly confident.

"Who's asking?"

"Ro—." I hesitated. Did I really want to tell her my real name? I mean, I am trying to hide from the court. "Ro—Rochelle, umm…Brown." I said reaching out my hand for her to shake. She looked hesitantly at it but shook it eventually.

"And, who's that?"

"I'm a former friend of Eric Dragomir. Do you happen to know him?" I thought I saw her flinch but I couldn't be sure. Her confidence dropped and her eyes were serious. She took a couple of steps towards me.

"Can we talk outside?" she whispered. I nodded and led the way. It was cold outside especially for us with a lot of exposed skin.

"What do you want?" she asked me harshly. I didn't really know how to approach the situation so I just stood there. "I told you Alchemists that I didn't steal those files. Why won't you leave me alone?"

"I'm not an Alchemist" I admitted. She took a little time to glance me over.

"You're a Dhampir." I nodded. "Then what do you want?" she repeated

"Do you have kids?" I asked her. She scrunched her eyebrows up in confusion.

"What's this have to do with anything?"

"Can you just answer it?" I asked impatiently

"Yeah" she admitted and before my eyes, I saw her features soften and a smile spread on her face. It looked like she was staring off into space "I have a beautiful little daughter. She's the light of my life" She looked at me like she just noticed I was there. "Her name's Scarlet" She told me. She looked so happy, that I didn't want to ruin the moment by saying what I wanted next but I needed to know. _Not for me, but for Lissa._ I kept repeating over in my head.

"And who's the father?" I asked before I could stop myself. Just as I had expected, her beautiful face filled with love and happiness was overtaken by nothingness. Her face went blank and her jaw tightened. She looked scared.

"Her father died about three years ago in a car crash." She admitted. I gasped as the puzzle pieces fit into place. Lissa's parents along with her brother died in a car crash as well.

"Umm…would that person be…."I hesitated

"Eric?" she finished for me "Yeah" she answered. I didn't know what to do so I just stood there and nodded like a fool. "He was a nice guy and I was drunk and he was showing an interest in me and I-I don't know." She babbled sounding like she was almost on the verge of tears.

"Can I meet her?" I asked. She looked stunned

"Who?" I grinned

"Scarlet."

"Umm…yeah, of course. Maybe after the show." I nodded. The fashion designer poked his head out from the door.

"Show starts in five minutes. I want you in there now." He ordered

"Okay, Fred" Emma replied. We walked back silently and took our places on stage. The curtains were drawn so no one could see us while the speaker introduced us and told us what we're doing. I hope desperately that I didn't muck up that bad. The curtains slip open and we were faced by a full house. Boy, my life sucked.

**COMMENT!**


	17. Chapter 17

The show girls stepped forward, swaying their hips and a couple of seconds I picked up my pace and started awkwardly swaying my hips stiffly in the rhythm of the music with a pretend smile plastered on my face. There were poles at the other end and each girl had their own. They danced around it with the same moves and actions. I chose my pole at the back which hopefully won't have me seen by the audience and started trying to copy—unsuccessfully—the show girl in front of me. My luck ran out as the girls ducked and I was left standing. The audience pointed and gave me accusing and questioning glances but after a while they found it pretty funny and burst out in laughter.

"Shit." I muttered as I smiled at them at continued my 'dance' and the crowd laughed harder.

"Hey you!" someone yelled from backstage. I looked around and standing there looking very cross was the fashion designer looking quite scary. Damn. I tried to buy time by pointing at my chest and giving him my questioning look as to ask him 'me?' He nodded and gestured for me to come over to him. I gingerly approached him.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Umm…." I tried to think of a good reason but I came up with nothing.

"No. I don't want any excuses. I knew you were pathetic from the start. I should've hired you. I mean, you're fiiinne" he screeched the word fine "and all, that's why I hired you" he gave me a smirk and a wink "I wanted to her close to you but you're really bad at dancing" he admitted. Ew. How old was this guy?

"Ewww…..I'd NEVER date you even if you were the last guy on the planet." He looked shocked and taken aback. Then he's face went read and you could see the veins on his bald head.

"YOU'RE FIRED!" He yelled. I gave him a smile. Great, this fits into my plan perfectly.

"Fine with me." I replied walking away. I really had enough of this guy.

"Wait. Why?" he asked. I shrugged

"I don't know. Maybe because this job's shit! And maybe because I have a shit boss!" he looked shocked but I didn't care, I got what I came here to do and he has given me shit before. And it was mean but he deserved it.

"How dare you?" he spat. I gave him my best disgusted look but he ignored it and continued. "You think you can come in here, cry and beg for a job, suck at it and then accuse me of being a bad boss?" he asked "Well, excuse me for not being nice to you." He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Me? Cry and beg for a job? Really? I really had enough of this guy. I blinked a couple of times.

"Fuck you." I spat coldly and with that, I walked away from him.

I changed out of my short, tight dress and took my high heels and jewellery off and cleaned off my heavy make-up, before I headed outside to wait for Emma. I was leaning on the wall when two guys approached me.

"Hey honey," the one on the left greeted. I silently grunted. I had enough shit today, I didn't need any from these two idiots.

"Get lost or you'll regret it." I threatened. Geez, I was in foul mood today.

"OoOoOoOo, she's feisty, Andrew." The other one on my right teased

"That's how I like Them" Andrew replied. The two guys were obviously drunk. They both took some time to check me out and I was thankful that I wasn't in the dress anymore. I heard a squeak from the door telling me that someone came out or came in but I didn't have any time to check as my attention was on the two drunken guys. They moved closer and I kept my eyes on the right guy because he looked really suspicious but when I moved to get a better defensive stance, my body was slightly to the side—which was my first mistake—so Andrew shot his hand out and tried to grope me. I reached out and grabbed his arm which was halfway to its destination and twisted it causing him to scream. While he was occupied, I kicked the other guy and disorientated grunt told me that I had hit the jackpot. Andrew had recovered from my attack and was staring in shock at his mate then at me.

"Oh shit!" he cursed as he ran away from me leaving his friend on the floor clutching his 'lower area'. He took another glance at me with fear and shock.

"Boo." I muttered calmly. He tried to get up and stumbled, caught himself and started half running, half limping after his friend still holding onto his 'lower area' like he was trying to protect it from me. I laughed quietly at that

"Wow, impressive." I turned around and met the eyes of Emma standing there.

"Thanks, I'm a Dhampir, I'm trained to do this." I heard the rumble in her chest when she chuckled

"You're trained to kill strigoi and protect Moroi, not scare off drunken human boys, even if they were trying to feel you up." I chuckled

"How long have you been spying on me?"

"Daw, spying is a bad word, let's just say…..I was checking up on you." Shook my head and laughed with her. She had a great personality and I'd love to get to know her more. I took one long look at her. Like me, she cleaned herself up and wore jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie. She looked more fun and mature now and definitely much more beautiful. The saying 'Girls look better without make-up' must be true.

"Come on, my car's this way."

We walked in a comfortable silence to her car. Her car was old and rusted. It was barely in tack and could only fit the driver and a passenger. We got in and she started the car and we were off. "Sorry about my car. It's really old."

"Nah, it's okay," I assured

"It's just, I can't afford to buy a new one right now. I'm a bit low on money, that's why I took the job as a show girl." I was clearly surprised by her opening so much to me. I mean, I was so mean to her at the start but now, she's pretty nice. I smiled at her sympathetically. She sighed and I thought I saw tears at the brim of her eyes. I didn't know what to say so I nodded my head idiotically. She continued even though I didn't say anything. "I'm just putting food on the table and get my little girl to school. I can't even keep up the rent." By now, some of the tears she was trying to fight off were falling down her cheeks but she hastily wiped it away as soon as it appeared.

"I'm sorry." I apologised lamely

"It's not your fault. It's mine. I just got too involved too early. My parents abandoned me when they found out I was pregnant and died years ago. I have no siblings so Scarlet is my world. I can't lose her." she told me. I swallowed. She was opening so much to me and all I could do was sit there and nod. Geez, what's wrong with me?

"I'm sorry." I repeated

The next few minutes were filled with uncomfortable silence and I decided to break it but Emma seemed like she was in a different world.

"I really can't wait to meet her." she gave me a warm smile

"You're gonna love her." she told me

"How old is she?"

"6."

"Great." When we arrived at her apartment, there was an old man waiting outside

"Emma! Where's your rent?" he asked

"Huh, you weren't kidding when you said you couldn't pay your rent huh?" I asked Emma but when I saw her face, I suddenly felt guilty. "Sorry" I told her once more. She chuckled even under the circumstances

"Stop apologising. It's okay." she turned back to the old man "Look, I said I'll give it to you but not now."

"No. I'm tired of this Emma. If you don't pay now, I'll have to call the police." He threatened.

"I can't pay right now." She admitted.

"How much?" I interrupted

"$610, including overdue fines" Wow.

I dug through my pocket while they argued and was lucky enough to find the credit card that Adrian gave me and handed it to the old man.

"Here. Change it on my card and don't harass her anymore." I nodded towards Emma.

"Rose, Don't." she argued

"No," I shook my head "Do you really want the cops to come here, take you to jail and have Scarlet taken away from you?" she didn't even hesitate.

"Fine, but I can't promise you I can pay it back."

"I don't expect it back." I admitted before we walked in and found a little girl on the couch with the TV turned on to the Disney channel.

"Hey, my little angle. How was school today?" I looked down at the little girl whom ran up to her mother as soon as she approached the doors and she reminded me exactly of Lissa. She had blonde hair, the same colour of Lissa's but her eyes were a warm brown which reminded me of her mother and strangely of Dimitri.

"Mummy?" she asked. She had a cute voice.

"Yes darling?"

"Who's that?" she pointed at me and I couldn't help but smile at her. She was so cute. I hoped Lissa would like her. Emma stood up and gestured towards me

"This." She pointed at me "is mummy's new friend."

"Yay!" she cried and I couldn't help but laugh

After we ate dinner and tucked Scarlet in bed, Emma and I sat on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate and watching re-runs of 'Friends'.

"Thanks for letting me meet her."

"That's okay. It's a pleasure."I hesitated before speaking again

"Umm….I don't really know how to tell you but did u know that Eric had another family?"

"Yes." She answered simply

"Well, Eric's daughter, Liss—Vasilisa is a royal and the quorum stopped her from joining the council. I need you and Scarlet to come back to court with me to sort it out. Please." I babbled. Emma sighed

"Would that be the best?" she asked hesitantly

"I hope so." I told her not wanting to lie to her and get her hopes too high.

"Okay then." My hopes perked up "You've done a massive favour to me by paying my rent so this would be my return of the favour." I smiled at her warmly

"Thank you." She smiled back at me

"When are we leaving?"

"Will tomorrow do for you and scarlet?"

"Tomorrow it is then."


	18. Chapter 18

Okay, I know u guys are mad after waiting so long! I'm so sorry. I'm going to my yearly exams soon so I'm going very slowly on my writing. Pls pls be patient with me. This chapter is a little shocking for Adrian fans but there's a point to it, I promise. Disclaimer, I don't own any of this, blah blah blah…. Enjoy guys !

I sat on my bed after returning from dinner with Emma and Scarlet to think things over. It was like I was doing too much thinking these last days. I didn't need to pack a lot of things seeing as I came with a light load. I sighed and rested the rest of my body on the bed. After a long day, the soft fluffy covers embraced me and I was more than reluctant to let it. I didn't know how long I laid there but as I grew more and more tired, I began to slip into the otherworld of dreams.

I was in a lovely garden and I could see a fountain in the middle of the pathway with cupid holding a bow and a heart shaped arrow. Next to it was a little balcony with some chairs. It was dark but oil lanterns lit the night making it look almost magical. I took a deep breath and in that one breath, I could smell all sorts of flowers and the fresh water running down the fountain. It was so perfect that I suddenly knew it was one of Adrian's dreams. Adrian stepped out from behind the fountain and I look some time checking him out. He was in a tuxedo which made him look amazingly handsome. It was black and white and he had on a cute red bowtie.

"Wow, someone looks good today." I teased with a chuckle.

"Same goes for you my Rose." I smiled at him. He was a good guy; he needed to be with someone that deserves him. I thought about our relationship a lot through the pass days and no matter how I see it, I could never see myself with him. He was too good for me and he was Royal but I also didn't want to break his heart. I knew how much he loved me but it was hard when I didn't have the same feelings He probably saw the sadness in my eyes. "What's wrong?" he asked worried "What's happening to you in the real world?" he continued curiously.

"Nothing. I'm fine." I replied. By the look on his face, I knew he didn't believe me. "I'm serious. I'm fine. Actually, I'm better than fine." I admitted. And it wasn't totally a lie, I just found Lissa's half sibling.

"Oh really?" he asked curiously

"Yeah, I think I'm going to be back at court soon. And I have a surprised in stall." I said in a teasing voice. He smiled at me, then took my hand and led me towards the balcony. We sat on the benches and just took comfort in each other's presence.

"Adrian?"

"Hmmm…?" I didn't know how to break up with him but I knew I had to.

"Ummm…" I hesitated "I-don't-think-we-can-be-together-anymore" I blurted out in a long word. I was leaning against him therefore I couldn't see the reaction he got but I suddenly saw him stiffen uncomfortably. Tears pricked at my eyes at the thought of him completely waking out of my life. "Adrian?" I asked worriedly

"Why?" he asked blankly. His voice sounded so emotionless and cold compared to his deep rich voice he usually had.

"You're a Royal." I said simply, trying to blink back tears that were threatening to pour down my face. He pushed me off him so that I wasn't leaning on him anymore and I saw that he wasn't saddened anymore. I could tell by the glint in his eyes and his posture that he was now angry.

"What does that have to do with anything!" he spat. The tears that were at the brink of my eyes, now flowed freely down my face. I hastily got rid of them when more tears replaced them as soon as they came.

"You're a Royal. I'm a Dhampir. It can't work" I squeaked afraid. I know, it sounds weird. Me, Rose Hathaway scared of a Moroi? I never thought this day would come. He abruptly stood up and started pacing and he ran a hand through his already messy hair which was an Adrian sign for confusion mixed with anger.

"Who cares that I'm a royal and you're a Dhampir?" he shouted

"Everyone Adrian" I replied now standing up. "Look at our world." I begged him to understand with my eyes. He ignored my comment

"This is all a joke to you, isn't it?" he asked accusingly. I was shocked. It was never a joke to me. I enjoyed every minute with him and I'll always treasure the memories close to my heart.

"No Adrian." I replied sternly "It wasn't. It never was." I said through clenched teeth. He just didn't understand

"Sure it wasn't." he replied sarcastically "Goodbye Rose. Don't be surprised if you don't find me at court when you get there." He spat coldly. I saw the dream starting to fade.

"Wait, Adrian!"

"Have a nice life little Dhampir." He said emotionless as the dream faded entirely and I was left crying in my darkened room.

I didn't get any sleep after Adrian's dream visit. I was too sad and angry to sleep. I tried to get into Lissa's head to see what was going on with Adrian but I knew she was asleep. Now that it was morning, I decided to check again. I concentrated on Lissa and just like that, I was in. It was easier than breathing when it came to Lissa.

She was in her bedroom getting ready for her first class. She woke up early today and thought she'd get some breakfast before her first period. As she was walking down the guests rooms towards the cafeteria, she heard something bang and then followed a loud grunt. She recognised the voice of Adrian's annoyed grumbles as he complained. The door to his room was slightly opened. I wanted desperately for her not to go see what he was up to but as caring as she was, she knocked on the door to see if he was okay. But unforuntalny no one answered but she still heard grumbles from the room.

"Adrian?" she called opening the door slightly open and stepping through "Adrian…" She tried again. She stepped into the other room and was shocked by what she saw. There were clothes everywhere and Adrian was busy stuffing them into the suitcase that was sitting on his bed "What are you doing Adrian?" she asked, half worried, half confused. Adrian turned around to see her standing there.

"Don't you ever knock?"

"Umm…I did." She corrected. She hesitated before asking her next question "Adrian, Why are you packing your clothes?"She asked hesitantly

"I need to go." Shocked filled her and she was wondering why Adrian would such a thing

"What? Why?"

"I don't know. I just need to go. I'm sick of this." He spat angrily

"You're not going to tell me where you're going, are you?" She spoke it as though it wasn't a question but a statement of truth but like Adrian, he answered anyways.

"No. I don't even know where I'm going." He admitted "I just need to go. Anywhere."

"Are-Are you going to come back?" she asked, not sure if he was annoyed with all the questions and the pestering. He sighed and stopped packing. He looked around the room like he was seeing it for the first time and made his way gingerly to the bed and sat down.

"I'm not sure Lissa." He admitted. He didn't sound annoyed but tired and confused. At that moment, someone was knocking at the door and Adrian walked past Lissa to see who it was. Lissa followed behind him. They opened the door expecting to see Christian or Eddie but surprisingly they saw a young women standing there. I've never seen her before and figured out that she was new around here. She was around the age 18. Her brown silky hair hung down at her shoulders perfectly. She was tall and was obviously a Moroi. She was wearing a flowery dress which complemented her thin body. She smiled at them and it literally lit the room. Lissa took a glance at Adrian which kept silent and he was looking at her in awe. He had a twinkle in his eye and was smiling back, not in a flirty way but a kind and welcoming way. I couldn't help but feel envy for this girl that I've barely knew. Lissa noticed the uncomfortable silence at nudged Adrian hard in the ribs. He made a little grunt but kept smiling to the girl.

"Hi" he greeted "Can I help you with anything?" he asked being a natural gentleman.

"Ummm…I'm just lost." She admitted "Can you show me the way to room B12?" Her voice was like honey, soft and rich.

"Sure. It's just around the corner to the gym." He said pointing towards the direction of the room. "I can walk you there if you like." He offered

"Oh, that'd be lovely. Thanks." Lissa felt incredibly uncomfortable just standing there.

"Okay, just let me close my door." Lissa awkwardly stepped out of the way next to the new girl.

"So, what's your name?" she asked nicely to the girl.

"It's Belle. Belle Badica." She said, reaching her hand out for Lissa to shake. Lissa didn't hesitate and shook it. Badica. She was one of the Royals

"Are you new here Belle?"

"Yeah, I'm just here for the Queen's funeral." She said and from the corner of my eye (well, it was Lissa's eye) I saw Adrian stiffen. He walked over to Belle

"Ready?"

"Yep." She answered popping the 'P'.

"Come on. See you later Lissa" He said as he led the way towards the room. I refused to stay a moment longer because of the fear of seeing Adrian leave. I eagerly came back to my room and found my face was wet with tears. I didn't mean to hurt Adrian but he was so hurt that he needed to get away before I came back. I looked at the clock on the wall and realised I was nearly late to meet Emma and Scarlet. I got up, cleaned myself up, grabbed my belongings and headed for the doors.

When I got there, Emma and Scarlet were packed and all ready to go but Scarlet was whinging that she wanted to sleep. Kids these days, I thought as I stood near the door leaning on the posts waiting for Emma to convince her fussy daughter to come with us.

"But I want to sleep mummy." She cried. Scarlet pouted and crossed her arms over her chest to show that she was angry. I tried unsuccessfully to stifle my laugh and sent the little girl crying. Well, it wasn't actually crying. It was half screaming, half crying.

"Oh gosh, my so sorry Emma." I tried to apologise to her but the screaming was too loud for her to hear. When she was done ushering Scarlet, we hopped into a rented car. I was obviously driving, Emma was in the passenger seat and Scarlet was strapped in the baby chair at the back seat. I turned the ignition but the sound just made a grumbling noise before falling silent again.

"Hang on" I told Emma "I'll go check the hood." I didn't know much about cars but hopefully I could fix it. I lifted the hood and it exposed lots of complex machines and buttons. "Shit!" I cursed trying to figure out which one would make the car start when I heard a strange ticking sound coming from one of the machines in the hood. I looked more carefully at it and realised it was a bomb! There was only one minute to go before it explodes."EMMA, GET OUT OF THE CAR. GO NOW!" I screamed heading back to the back seat.

"What's happening?" she asked as fear overtook her.

"It's a bomb! The car's going to explode!" I yelled.

"Scarlet!" she cried

"I'll get her! Go now!" I told her. I opened the back seat with 30 seconds to go and fumbled with the seatbelt. I suddenly got frustrated with it and tared it open pulling the crying child from her seat. I ran with seconds to go and thanks to Dimitri, I was fast. I jumped with Scarlet still in my arms while the car was engulfed in a field of flames. I crawled over with Scarlet over to Emma.

"Oh Scarlet" she cried as she held her child close. I breathed a sigh of relief. We were safe. For now.

A/N: hey guys, was Adrian a little out of character this chapter? How was it? Who did u think laid the bomb? Reviews please. Next chapter up soon xoxo

-teamdimka


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: hey guys, disclaimer…ENJOY

"Common honey, calm down." Emma ushered trying to calm her screaming child. "Who would do such a thing?" she asked. For the past 5 minutes, she kept asking the same question over and over again but unforuntalny, I couldn't give her an answer therefore I stayed quiet while Emma cooed soft assurances towards her daughter. They were both sitting on the couch of her apartment but I was busy pacing around the room trying to think.

After a few minutes, Scarlet started to calm down which was surprising because of how loud and worked up she was a couple of minutes ago. I turned on the television for something to distract me and landed on the Moroi channel. The news was currently on and the reporter was telling a story of how the twenty-nine miners trapped underground in New Zealand just got confirmed they were all dead when an alerting newsman appeared on the screen with some breaking news.

"_Lately the murderer of Queen Tatiana, Rosemarie Hathaway has been in a terrible accident." _

"What?" I'd stopped pacing and paid full attention on what the news reporter was saying.

"_A couple of minutes ago, a bystander of the accident claims to witness the car explode before his eyes with the accused murderer along with two passengers aboard. One was a woman around her early thirties and the other was a young child. Rosemarie Hathaway was confirmed dead just minutes ago. The Moroi society is currently glad to bring such peace and safety to the honourable Queen Tatiana and the rest of the Moroi who can life in peace knowing that the murderer had suffered just as their Queen."_ The reporter finished and moved on to some strigoi attack in Tulsa.

Emma looked at me expecting me to say something. The line that creased her forehead was a sign that she was confused and stressed out much like I was. I sighed heavily and started pacing again.

"Rose?"

"What?"

"You didn't tell me that you killed the Queen."

"I didn't!" I argued practically screaming. I was annoyed because of everyone accusing me of killing her. I tried to fight back the tears that were pricking at my eyes threatening to spill over. _Stay strong Rose._ I thought warily. Emma was silent for a while.

"What are we going to do now?" she asked

"I think we should keep our plan and make our way to court."

"What? Are you serious? They think you're dead Rose! You'll get executed on the spot if they found out you were alive!"

"I know that" I admitted "That's why I'm going in a disguise" I told her. That's when it happened. I was bombarded by so many emotions at once but it wasn't from me. It was coming from Lissa. She was scared and confused. I got sucked into her head as soon as her fear rose.

She was in her room with the television on and she was crying. I've never seen her so sad and I couldn't help wondering who made her that scared and miserable.

"Omg, I can't believe this happened to Rose." I then finally got it, she just found out I was 'dead'. I realized that she wasn't the only person in the room until she wiped away the tears that blurred her vision. I saw Christian next to her trying to soothe and calm her. Everyone I loved was there, Adrian, Eddie, Abe, my mother and surprisingly Dimitri.

They all looked sad and most of them were crying. Adrian looked guilty and was holding a bottle of wine in his hand which every now and then, he would take a swig of it. My mother, even though she was one of the strongest people I've met, shed a few tears but I knew how hard she was trying to hold it in just like I was. Abe was next to her trying to comfort and assure her. Dimitri was again, by the door. He looked also guilty and there was a pain in his eyes that couldn't be mistaken.

Lissa finally took a deep breath, tried her eyes and composed herself. "I can't believe Rose's dead" she said and I thought I saw Dimitri flinch a little.

"Princess, you mustn't think like that." Dimitri voice was filled with so much hurt and pain that it shocked me. "Her soul still lingers in all of us. And if we don't forget her, she'll continue to live in our lives." He sounded like he wasn't there, like he was reliving a memory or thinking really hard on something.

"I'll never forget her." Lissa replied sternly

"We all won't" Said Adrian but it was almost a whisper.

"Rose!" Emma cried as I drifted back into reality.

"hmmm?"

"Oh, thank god, were you daydreaming?" she asked with a worried expression on her face

"No, why?"

"I called you're name about a hundred times and you didn't even respond!" she exaggerated.

"Oh, sorry. I was umm…..visiting a friend." I explained, so sure how to tell her about Lissa and the bond.

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it.

"Okay." she said rolling her eyes as she made her way back to the couch to sit with Scarlet. "So, are we going back to court then?"

"Yeah, but right now, I have to plan out my disguise." I told her as we got to work.

I sat there stoking my hair thinking over my make over while Emma was out shopping for accessories and make up products due to the fact that every of her possessions got destroyed during the explosion. As I sat there, I thought about Lissa and how everyone I loved thought I was dead. I wondered how they would react when they found out I wasn't actually dead.

In the next room, I heard a little sequel, then came a cry as Scarlet woke up from her afternoon nap. Sighing, I stood up and made my way towards her room. It was obviously pink and there were toys scattered everywhere with a small bed in the corner of the room.

"Mummy?" she whispered

"Hey Scarlet." I greeted "It's mummy's friend, Rose, remember?" she frowned up at me which looked just like Lissa did when she was either upset or disappointed with me. Her eyes were droopy and looked like she was about to cry again.

"Where's mummy?" She asked, pouting.

"She's gone shopping." I replied. Her face dropped a little more but she slowly got out of bed and looked around the room like she didn't know where she was. Her hair was messy and her eyes were droopy as she stifled a yawn. Her eyes finally rested on mine and I smiled at her. She looked so cute, just like a miniature version of Lissa.

"I'm hungry" she complained. I chuckled

"What do you want to eat?" she shrugged

"A sandwich?" I suggested. She instantly brightened up and smiled up at me. She nodded enthusiastically and followed me out of the room and towards the kitchen. When we made our sandwiches and finished it greedily, we heard the door open to reveal Emma standing there with a hand full of bags

"Mommy!" Scarlet cried and launched herself at Emma

"Hey Baby." She greeted gripping her in a bear hug. "Did you miss me?" she asked. Scarlet nodded "Sorry honey," She apologised "but did you have fun with Aunty Rose?"

"Yeah, we ate sandwiches." She laughed. Then her eyes rested on me.

"You ready for your make over Rose?" She asked. I shrugged

"I guess."

"Okay, let's get this over and done with." She lead the way to her bathroom "Okay, first things first, your hair!" She said emptying the contents out of the bag. "How short do you want to cut your hair?" she asked grabbing a pair of scissors from the bench.

"Ummmm…..actually, can I keep the length of my hair?" I asked. Dimitri always like my long hair. Once he actually told me not to cut it and to tie it into a bun.

"If you want" she replied

"Thanks."

"If you want to keep the length of your hair, you at least have to wear a wig or dye it." She said sternly

"Okay." I agreed. "I'll take the wig." I replied. I wasn't comfortable with dying my hair due to the fact that I don't want to change who I was completely.

"What colour?" she asked handing me a bag full of wigs containing different colours and styles

"Ummmm…..Can I have the light brown one with red highlights?" Actually, my hair was naturally brown but it was so brown that it almost looked like black.

"Yeah, it'd look nice on you."

"Is that an insult or a compliment?" she took a little time to think it over

"Both." She replied.

This went on for the next few hours. Once I was done with the makeover, Emma decided to sort out my closet. She lent me clothes, brought some new ones and threw my old ones out. I had light brown hair with red highlights and blue contacts. Rose Hathaway didn't exist anymore as I was known as Jessica Mates.

"Was this really necessary?" I asked when we got back to the apartment with clothes I never thought of wearing.

"If you want your friends not to notice you, yes." She replied. I rolled my eyes at her. "Ummm….Rose, opps, I mean Jessica, when are we going to court?"

"Ummm….Tomorrow morning?" I suggested "Have a good night's rest then we'll be going, kay?"

"Sure."

"Do you need to pack anything?"

"Nope, cause if you forgotten, all our stuff got destroyed during the explosion."

"Oh right, I'm sorry." I apologized feeling sorry I brought it up. The guilt was burning inside of me.

"Oh nah, it's not your fault." She replied

"Well, we don't actually know who the bomb was targeting but since I have a lot of enemies, I'm pretty sure it was me." I admitted

"We can never be sure but I owe you a life for saving my precious Scarlet."

"Don't worry about it. It's part of my job."

"Yeah, but she's not your charge."

"It's not about that. You guys come first, no matter what."

"Mummy?" Scarlet interrupted

"Yeah baby?"

"I'm sleepy"

"Okay, common, I'll tuck you in." she looked at me "You should get some sleep too….Jessica" I smiled at her glad that she remembered.

"Yeah, Thanks…..for everything."

"You're welcome." She replied before turning to leave. I headed back to my room and sat on the bed and thought things over. It seems like I've done a lot of thinking lately.

I wondered if Adrian was going to visit me in my dreams tonight. I really hoped not because if he did, he would know that I'm alive. That's when I remembered I still have the ring that Lissa made me back in the hotel room before they left. I rummaged through my small bag and found it. I slipped it on remembering that once Adrian told me he couldn't get into my dreams when I slipped the ring on. I laid in bed and slowly letting sleep take over my body as I slipped into a dreamless sleep.

A/N: I've haven't gotten as many reviews I've had earlier, so what do you guys think? Just to let you know, MORE REVIEWS MEANS EARLIER UPDATES, and if you think it sucks, let me know and ill stop. Thanks guys.


	20. Chapter 20

GUYS, SIGHS, I'VE FINISHED LAST SACRIFICE ANND I CANT BELIEVE IT'S THE END. YOU GUYS ARE GONNA HATE ME FOR THIS BUT I DON'T THINK IM GOING TO CONTINUE THE STORY ANYMORE. IM SOOOOOO SORRY GUYS. YOU'VE BEEN AMAZING WITH YOUR COMMENTS AND REVIEWS. I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH BUT I DON'T SEE THE STORY GOING ANYWHERE. SORRY GUYS. I HOPE YOU CAN FORGIVE ME. MAYBE SOMEDAY I CAN WRITE BLOODLINES FOR YOU. (P.S, BLOODLINES IS THE TIITLE THAT THEY GAVE TO THE SPIN-OFF SERIES)THANKS GUYS AND GOOD LUCK.

-ALL THE LOVE, TEAMDIMKA.


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